Where will the Tokyo Olympics events take place?

Event locations for the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games

Where are the 2020/2021 summer Olympic Games’ events happening? Mainly in Tokyo but not just in Tokyo.

Now postponed until 2021, but still called Tokyo 2020, the sites which will host the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games are mainly in two areas:

The "Heritage Zone" which brings together lots of iconic sites used during the 1964 Tokyo Games. In addition to passing on the legacy of the 1964 Games and the role they played in post-war Japan to a new generation, their reuse is part of the ecological effort of these Olympiads.
The "Tokyo Bay Zone" which brings together sites specifically designed for the 2020 Olympic Games. It stands as a model of innovative urban development and symbolises the city’s future.

These two areas extend across the capital to form what the organisers call a "symbol of infinity". The athletes’ village is located at the intersection between the two areas, within the artificial islands in Tokyo Bay. This location was decided in order to facilitate the daily life of the athletes because 85% of the event sites will be located less than eight kilometers from the village.

Heritage Zone:

Tokyo Bay Zone:

Beyond Tokyo:

Very near Tokyo and in the same prefecture, Chofu will host the modern Pentathlon events. There will also be badminton events at the Musashino Forest Sports Centre and rugby events will be held at the Ajinomoto Stadium, also known as the Tokyo Stadium. The basketball events in the 2020 Games will take place in the Saitama Super Arena, around an hour's train ride from Tokyo.

Further afield, in the Kanagawa prefecture, sailing events are organised in Sagami Bay, on the small island of Enoshima. This venue is already an Olympic site as the sailing events were held here during the 1964 Summer Olympics.

East of Tokyo, Ichinomiya in the Chiba prefecture will host the surfing events of the 2020/2021 Summer Games on Tsurigasaki Beach. It is already a popular spot for sports fans as this beach attracts nearly 600 000 surfers each year. In the same prefecture, the Makuhari Messe convention centre will host fencing, taekwondo and wrestling events.

The 2021 cycling events will also take place outside the capital with stops at the Izu Velodrome, Izu Mountain Bike Course and the Fuji Speedway racecourse, at the foot of Mount Fuji.

Olympic sites: Football, Baseball and Softball

But Olympic events will not just take place in Tokyo and the surrounding area. Some events will be organised in other Japanese cities such as Sapporo, Yokohama or Sendai.

Baseball and softball matches of the 2020/2021 Games will begin in Fukushima City, a symbol of Japan's reconstruction after the natural and nuclear disaster of 11 March, 2011 and will end in the heart of Yokohama.

But it is football that will go the furthest with games not only in Tokyo but also in Yokohama, Saitama, Sendai, Ibaraki and Sapporo. Following the Tokyo 2020/2021 Olympic football tournament will take you on a tour of Japan!

Marathon events in Sapporo for the 2020/2021 Olympics

Some of the Olympic Games events were moved out of Tokyo due to the hot summer weather in the capital of Hokkaido Island in July and August. This is the case for the marathon and walking events which will take place in Sapporo!

Read also: Tokyo 2021, marathon moves to Sapporo

The course for the men's and women's marathon competitions has been decided and will start and finish at Sapporo Odori Park, located in the centre of Sapporo. The course consists of a loop of about 20km, most of which is used for the Hokkaido Marathon held every August. Athletes will pass by or even through some of the city's landmarks, such as the Susukino entertainment district, Nakajima Park, the Hokkaido University campus and the red-brick Hokkaido government office building.

The calendar of marathon and walking competitions has also been changed:

5 August / 4.30 pm: men's 20 km walk
6 August / 5.30 am: men's 50 km walk
6 August / 4.30 pm: women's walk 20 km
7 August / 7.00 am: women's marathon
8 August / 7.00 am: men's marathon