The Tokyo 2016 Olympic bid committee said Monday that if Tokyo is elected to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games they would be the world’s most compact Games in recent Olympic history, reports the Japan Times.
A draft outline released by the bid committee in Tokyo shows the Games will be staged at venues located within a radius of eight kilometres, smaller than the initially planned 10 kilometres, on reclaimed land in the Tokyo Bay area at a cost of Y121.4 billion. The bid committee has placed the main Olympic stadium at the centre of the area.
With the exception of the Olympic Stadium – the venue for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies – track and field events, soccer, and a few other events, existing facilities will be utilized.
They include the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium and the National Stadium, the main venue for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Several parks and outdoor sports facilities on the reclaimed land in the Tokyo Bay area will be utilized as venues for events including equestrian sports, swimming, archery and canoeing.
According to the Japan Times the dates for the Tokyo 2016 Games are July 29 to August 14 for the Olympics, and August 31 to September 11 for the Paralympics.
Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, chairman of the bid committee, told a gathering of politicians, sports executives and business leaders that the campaign to bring the Summer Games to Tokyo again should be a national one, instead of Tokyo’s regional one.
Officials said the bid committee is scheduled to submit the application to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by the January 14 deadline.
