<p class="title">Usain Bolt may not be competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics but he took a star turn Saturday in the inauguration of the new National Stadium, seven months before the Opening Ceremony.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The retired Jamaican sprint superstar jogged 200 metres around the track in an exhibition relay race alongside paralympic athletes, in the first public event at the 60,000-seater stadium.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The show opened with a performance of taiko drums that instantly brought to mind the Rugby World Cup, where the players were welcomed into the field to the haunting sound of the drums.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But the biggest cheers of the night were reserved not for Bolt, but J-pop boy band Arashi and Japanese rugby captain Michael Leitch.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It was a great experience being here running in front of so many people... I was happy because I won't be getting to compete in the Olympics," Bolt told reporters afterwards.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He roundly rejected any thoughts of a comeback, saying: "Am I coming back to running? No."</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I'm actually in pain right now from the little run I did," he joked, adding that he was looking forward to attending the Games as a fan for the first time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The stadium, designed by renowned architect Kengo Kuma, incorporates traditional Japanese design plus a host of features to beat the expected sweltering heat during the Games at the height of the Tokyo summer.</p>.<p class="bodytext">There is greenery to provide shade and the eaves around the outer perimeter are designed to keep out sunlight and rain and help channel breezes into the stadium.</p>.<p class="bodytext">There are also eight mist spraying facilities, 185 fans and 16 air-conditioned lounges.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The stadium, built on the ground of the 1964 Olympic Stadium, will play host to the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the flagship athletic events.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, it will not see the climax of the marathon, after the traditional closing event was moved hundreds of kilometres north to Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido, in a bid to beat the heat.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Total construction costs including design and supervising fees came to 156.9 billion yen ($1.45 billion), within budget, according to officials.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, a previous design by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid was scrapped in 2016 as the costs had soared beyond $2 billion -- causing humiliation to the organisers.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The first competitive sports event at the new stadium will be the Emperor's Cup football final on New Year's Day.</p>
<p class="title">Usain Bolt may not be competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics but he took a star turn Saturday in the inauguration of the new National Stadium, seven months before the Opening Ceremony.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The retired Jamaican sprint superstar jogged 200 metres around the track in an exhibition relay race alongside paralympic athletes, in the first public event at the 60,000-seater stadium.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The show opened with a performance of taiko drums that instantly brought to mind the Rugby World Cup, where the players were welcomed into the field to the haunting sound of the drums.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But the biggest cheers of the night were reserved not for Bolt, but J-pop boy band Arashi and Japanese rugby captain Michael Leitch.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It was a great experience being here running in front of so many people... I was happy because I won't be getting to compete in the Olympics," Bolt told reporters afterwards.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He roundly rejected any thoughts of a comeback, saying: "Am I coming back to running? No."</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I'm actually in pain right now from the little run I did," he joked, adding that he was looking forward to attending the Games as a fan for the first time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The stadium, designed by renowned architect Kengo Kuma, incorporates traditional Japanese design plus a host of features to beat the expected sweltering heat during the Games at the height of the Tokyo summer.</p>.<p class="bodytext">There is greenery to provide shade and the eaves around the outer perimeter are designed to keep out sunlight and rain and help channel breezes into the stadium.</p>.<p class="bodytext">There are also eight mist spraying facilities, 185 fans and 16 air-conditioned lounges.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The stadium, built on the ground of the 1964 Olympic Stadium, will play host to the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the flagship athletic events.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, it will not see the climax of the marathon, after the traditional closing event was moved hundreds of kilometres north to Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido, in a bid to beat the heat.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Total construction costs including design and supervising fees came to 156.9 billion yen ($1.45 billion), within budget, according to officials.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, a previous design by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid was scrapped in 2016 as the costs had soared beyond $2 billion -- causing humiliation to the organisers.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The first competitive sports event at the new stadium will be the Emperor's Cup football final on New Year's Day.</p>