The 2020 Summer Olympics officially known as the Games of the ###II Olympiad and commonly known as Tokyo 2020, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020 in Tokyo, Japan.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 7 September 2013. This will be the second time that Tokyo has hosted the Summer Olympic Games, the first being in 1964. It is also the first city in Asia to host the summer Olympic Games twice, and overall the fourth Olympics to be held in Japan, which also hosted the Winter Olympics in 1972 (Sapporo) and 1998 (Nagano). The 2020 Games will be the second of three consecutive Olympics to be held in East Asia, the first being the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang County, South Korea, and the next being the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
These Games will see the introduction of new and additional competitions at the Summer Olympics, including 3x3 basketball, freestyle BMX and Madison cycling, as well as further mixed events. Under new IOC policies that allow the host organizing committee to add sports to the Olympic programme to augment the permanent "core" Olympic events, these Games will see karate, sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding make their Olympic debuts. There will also be the return of baseball and softball, both removed from the summer programme after 2008.
Bidding process
Tokyo, Istanbul, and Madrid were the three candidate cities. The applicant cities of Baku (Azerbaijan) and Doha (Qatar) were not promoted to candidate status. A bid from Rome was withdrawn.
Host city selection
The IOC voted to select the host city of the 2020 Summer Olympics on 7 September 2013 at the 125th IOC Session at the Buenos Aires Hilton in Buenos Aires, Argentina. An exhaustive ballot system was used. No city won over 50% of the votes in the first round, and Madrid and Istanbul were tied for second place. A run-off vote between these two cities was held to determine which would be eliminated. In the final vote, a head-to-head contest between Tokyo and Istanbul, Tokyo was selected by 60 votes to 36, as it got at least 49 votes needed for a majority.
Development and preparation
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government set aside a fund of 400 billion Japanese yen (over 3.67 billion USD) to cover the cost of hosting the Games. The Japanese government is considering increasing slot capacity at both Haneda Airport and Narita International Airport by easing airspace restrictions. A new railway line is planned to link both airports through an expansion of Tokyo Station, cutting travel time from Tokyo Station to Haneda from 30 minutes to 18 minutes, and from Tokyo Station to Narita from 55 minutes to 36 minutes; the line would cost 400 billion yen and would be funded primarily by private investors, but East Japan Railway Company (East JR) is planning a new route near Tamachi to Haneda Airport. Funding is also planned to accelerate completion of the Central Circular Route, Tokyo Gaikan Expressway and Ken-Ō Expressway, and to refurbish other major expressways in the area. There are also plans to extend the Yurikamome automated transit line from its existing terminal at Toyosu Station to a new terminal at Kachidoki Station, passing the site of the Olympic Village, although the Yurikamome would still not have adequate capacity to serve major events in the Odaiba area on its own.
The Tokyo Organizing Committee is headed by former Prime Minister Yoshirō Mori. Olympic and Paralympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto is overseeing the preparations on behalf of the Japanese government.
Venues and infrastructure
In February 2012, it was announced that the National Stadium in Tokyo, the central venue for the 1964 Summer Olympics, would undergo a ¥100 billion renovation for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Olympics. In November 2012, the Japan Sport Council announced that it would take bids for proposed designs. Of 46 finalists, Zaha Hadid Architects was awarded the project, which would replace the stadium with a new, 80,000-seat stadium. The stadium faced criticism over its design (which was compared to a bicycle helmet, and judged as clashing with the surrounding Meiji Shrine) and its costs, even with attempts to revise and "optimise" the design.
In June 2015, the government announced that as a further cost-savings measure, it would reduce the new stadium's permanent capacity to 65,000 in its athletics configuration (although with the option to add up to 15,000 temporary seats for football). The government also scrapped plans to build a retractable roof. Due to public outcry over the increasing costs of the stadium (which reached ¥252 billion), the government ultimately chose to scrap the Zaha Hadid design entirely, and chose a new design by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. Inspired by traditional temples and having a lower profile, Kuma's design has a budget of ¥149 billion. Due to the changes in plans, the new stadium would not be completed in time for the Rugby World Cup as originally planned.
In October 2018, the Board of Audit issued a report stating that the total cost of the venues could exceed US$25 billion.
Of the 33 competition venues in Tokyo, 28 are within 8 kilometers (4.97 miles) of the Olympic Village. Eleven new venues are to be constructed. On 16 October 2019, the IOC announced that there were plans to re-locate the marathon and racewalking events to Sapporo due to heat concerns. The plans were made official on 1 November 2019 after Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike accepted the IOC's decision, despite her belief that the events should have remained in Tokyo.
Heritage Zone
Seven venues for nine sports will be located within the central business area of Tokyo, northwest of the Olympic Village. Some of these venues were originally constructed for the 1964 Summer Olympics.
