Yoyogi National Gymnasium


Yoyogi National Gymnasium, officially Yoyogi National Stadium is an indoor arena located at Yoyogi Park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, which is famous for its suspension roof design.
The arena can hold 12,898 people and an arena area of. It is now primarily used for ice hockey, futsal, basketball and volleyball.
The NHK studios are adjacent to the arena along the edge of Yoyogi Park. Therefore, images of the arena are regularly featured at the end of NHK Newsline broadcasts.
WWW naash.go.jp/yoyogi

History

The design of the Yoyogi National Gymnasium began in 1961 by Kenzō Tange in collaboration with engineer. The project was intended for the 1964 Summer Olympics. The bid for the structure was approved 20 months before the start of the games and took 18 months to construct. It was opened on October 10, 1964. The stadium held the swimming and diving events for the 1964 Olympics and a companion building known as the 'Annex', which was constructed at the same time and also designed by Tange, held some of the basketball events. It was also the venue for the handball competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Since 1964, the stadium has been used regularly for sport and entertainment events.
Yoyogi National Gymnasium inspired the design for the Olympic Stadium for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
In 1987, Kenzō Tange was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize, with the citation describing the Yoyogi National Gymnasium as “among the most beautiful buildings of the 20th century".
In 2021, the stadium was designated an Important Cultural Property in Japan for being "a monumental example of postwar architecture with a dynamic exterior and magnificent interior space".

Events