Japan Sport Council has announced the delivery of Japan's new national stadium in Tokyo. After handover on November 30 the venue will begin preparing for its opening events in December and January.

Construction of the new National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo was a very challenging project for a number of reasons, beginning with its sheer scale, spatial constraints and logistics of building within very dense urban fabric. And yet it was delivered like clockwork.

In the time frame set a few years back delivery was set for November 30, 2019. This Tuesday (Nov 19) the Japan Sport Council confirmed delivery of the stadium, leaving time until end of the month for inspections and testing.

© Japan Sports Council

The next step is preparing a successful opening, in fact even two of them. First official and confirmed event is the Emperor's Cup final on New Year's Day, 2020. As is tradition, thousands of football fans will invade the capital to root for their club.

On the day of both semifinal games, December 21, Tokyo will see its major community event and first test for the 68,000+ stadium. Called “Hello, Our Stadium”, the ceremony will see a combination of sport, culture and popular music, welcoming Tokyo citizens and tourists at the new national stadium.

Official groundbreaking on the 2020 Olympics main venue took place on December 11, 2016, though machinery was operating for a few days already at that point. This means it took 36 months nearly to the day to deliver the project. According to new estimates, the budget is ¥157 billion ($1.45 billion), which makes it one of the most expensive stadia ever built worldwide.

The most distinctive feature of the Kengo Kuma design is intensive use of timber as both decorative and structural element. In fact, the stadium's roof is the largest ever to include structural timber. Facades are also clad with wood, as well as decorated with live vegetation, including small trees.

© Japan Sports Council

© Japan Sports Council