Architecture is an integral part of the Olympic Games. The main stadium for the Tokyo Games was the National Stadium designed by Mitsuo Katayama and Sakae Tsunoda with a capacity of 72 000. In addition to the opening and closing ceremonies, the athletics and equestrian competitions and the final of the football tournament were held here. The stadium also included the Metropolitan Gymnasium where the gymnasts competed, the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium and an indoor swimming pool for water polo.
For the swimming competitions and ball sports, architect Konzó Tange designed a futuristic structure that referenced traditional Japanese architecture. The main part of the National Gymnasium was a swimming pool that could be covered with a deck in two hours so that basketball, handball and volleyball competitions could be held there and boxing and weightlifting.
A reminder of the cancelled 1940 Games was the Toda rowing course on the Arakawa River. Originally completed in 1939, it was modernised in 1958 after Tokyo was chosen to host the 1964 Games.
Tokyo built the Nippon Budokan Hall by architect Mamoru Yamada for the judoka competitions, which is reminiscent of a traditional Japanese building with an octagonal roof. Judokas and karatekas will compete in the timeless hall again this year.
The main centre of the Games was the Komazawa Olympic Park with the multifunctional stadium of the same name. The football stadium included an athletics track, two volleyball courts and three pitches for hockey players, and a sports hall where the wrestling competitions were held. In the middle of the park was a 50-metre-high tower, which was the central telephone exchange linking the Olympic Games to the world and the control point for the supply of water and electricity to the Olympic sports facilities. The upper part of the tower was used by the police to control traffic.
Photos in this collection provided by the Czech Olympic Committee and the German Olympic Sports Confederation.
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