Tokyo Opens 15,000-Seat Olympic Aquatics Centre

On Saturday next year, Tokyo opened a 15,000-seat swimming venue for the Olympic Games, with a swimming sensation diagnosed last year with leukaemia showcasing freestyle at the ceremony.

In February, the $542 million Aquatics Centre for swimming, diving and creative swimming was completed, but due to the coronavirus, its grand opening ceremony planned for March was postponed, reports AFP.

“I hope top athletes in the world will compete at this venue… I’m already excited,” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told reporters.

Koike said the city hopes to attract more athletes, promising through the introduction of anti-virus protection measures to host a "good" Olympics.

Japanese swimming star Rikako Ikee joined three more competitors in a relay at the ceremony.

At the now-postponed Olympic Games, the 20-year-old had been a clear favorite for the 100-meter butterfly gold before announcing last year she had leukaemia.

She began training in March and competitions in August after being released from hospital in December following ten months of treatment.

There is a movable wall in the main pool at the Aquatics Centre that allows the 50-metre (164 ft) facility to be converted into two 25-metre (82 ft) pools, with an adjustable depth.

The building cost 56.7 billion yen ($542 million) but Tokyo hopes to make the most of the facility after the 2020 Games, aiming to attract one million users a year — 850,000 through swimming competitions and roughly 150,000 casual punters.

The 2020 Games were delayed as Covid-19 spread globally, and are now set to open on July 23, 2021.

There have been concerns about whether the event can be staged at all, with many countries suffering second or even third waves of contamination, but organizers and Olympic officials insist it can be done safely.