The Nippon Budokan (Japanese: 日本武道館, Hepburn: Nippon Budōkan, lit. ‘Japan Martial Arts Hall‘), often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts contests, the arena has gained additional fame as one of the world’s most outstanding musical performance venues.[1] The Budokan was a popular venue for Japanese professional wrestling for a time, and it has hosted numerous other sporting events, such as the 1967 Women’s Volleyball World Championship. Most recently, the arena hosted the Olympic debut of karate in the 2020 Summer Olympics, as well as the judo competition at both the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
A number of famous rock music acts have played at the Budokan. The Beatles were the first rock group to play there, in a series of concerts held between June 30 and July 2, 1966. ABBA ended their last tour and held their final live performance there in March 1980. Numerous acts have recorded live albums at the Budokan, including Blur, TVXQ, Bryan Adams, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Eric Clapton, Cheap Trick, Neil Young, Dream Theater, Duran Duran, Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Mariah Carey, Judas Priest, Paul McCartney, Asia, Ringo Starr, Journey, Deep Purple, Masayoshi Takanaka, and Michael Schenker Group.