Olympics
TOKYO 2020 NATIONAL STADIUM OPENED
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hailed the completion of the National Stadium built for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Sunday, his speech at the Kengo Kuma-designed venue praising the efforts to finish on schedule after an early setback.
The stadium, built at a cost of 156.9 billion yen (S$1.94 billion), will have a capacity of 68,000 when it hosts the Olympic Games opening ceremony on July 24.
It will stage athletics and football events at the Games as well as the closing ceremony.
During his speech, Mr Abe referred to the challenges organisers faced when the original design was scrapped because of a public outcry over spiralling costs.
The change meant construction did not begin until December 2016 and the stadium was unable to host matches at this year’s Rugby World Cup as originally planned.
“For this National Stadium, which will be the symbol of Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games, I assume there must have been many difficulties for the process of its construction,” said Mr Abe.
“The design was changed during the process.
“It is purely the result of everyone’s ‘All Japan’ contribution and hard work, so that we finally celebrate today.”
Sunday’s ceremony was restricted to a small number of officials and the first public event will be on Dec 21.
The Emperor’s Cup soccer final will be the first sporting contest to be staged there on New Year’s Day.
“We have to make next year’s Tokyo Games an opportunity to share dreams and hopes, to create a proud legacy, show Japan’s power to the world, and open up the future of this country,” said Mr Abe.
The Olympic rings installed on the Eiffel Tower since June to celebrate the upcoming Olympic Games were removed from the Parisian monument early on Friday morning, as confirmed by an AFP photographer. But the Paris City Hall intends to replace them with a more permanent structure until 2028.
The five-coloured rings, measuring 29 metres in length and 15 metres in height, were placed between the first and second levels of the iconic iron structure on 7 June.
According to Inside the Games publication, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo wants the Olympic symbol to continue decorating the monument until the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
But the descendants of the tower’s creator, Gustave Eiffel are opposing the move. They are insisting that the Olympic rings are aesthetically in conflict with the concept and design of the Tower.
The 30-tonne rings initially installed on the Eiffel Tower were also not designed to withstand winter weather conditions.
Olympics
Despite Egypt winning 3 medals at Paris Olympics, President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered a comprehensive evaluation of sports federations that participatedat the Paris Olympic Games, following a mission report submitted by the country’s sports minister.
The mandate includes a thorough expenditure check and a performance review to better highlight areas of improvement and fund allocation in future Games.
Additionally, the president plans to take necessary measures against federations —such as limiting funds— that had negative results in the Paris Games.
Egypt’s participation in sports where it lacks a competitive advantage will also be limited, as the president aims to direct resources to promising athletes to ensure optimal results. The president also aims to reduce administrative and technical staff within Olympic delegations and task relevant ministries with preparing future Olympic athletes.
Al-Sisi’s Olympic overhaul is to be presented to the cabinet for approval and urged the government to prioritise amending the sports law for the House of Representatives for review.
Egypt took home a total of three medals in the Summer Games. Ahmed El-Gendy triumphed in modern pentathlon, Sara Samir claimed the silver in weightlifting, and 21-year-old fencer Mohamed El-Sayed earned the bronze.
-Insidethegames
Paris 2024 sold a record 12 million tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics, beating the Games record previously set by London 2012, organisers said on Sunday.
Some 9.5 million tickets were sold for the Olympics and 2.5 million for the Paralympics, which end on Sunday.
In 2012, London organisers set the record for the Paralympics with 2.7 million tickets sold but only 8.2 million were sold for the Olympics.
-Reuters
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