Estimated cost of staging Tokyo Olympics has now risen to £11.5bn after the Games had to be put back a year due to the coronavirus pandemic; Olympics due to open on July 23 2021, followed by the Paralympics on August 24
Tuesday 22 December 2020 09:57, UK
The official cost of the postponed Tokyo Olympics has increased by 22 per cent, the local organising committee revealed on Tuesday as it unveiled its new budget.
In an online news conference, organisers said the Olympics will now cost $15.4bn (£11.5bn) to stage, up from $12.6bn (£9.4bn) in last year's budget.
The added $2.8bn (£2.1bn) is the cost of the one-year delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, with added expenses coming from renegotiating contracts and measures to combat COVID-19.
The budget shows the Switzerland-based International Olympic Committee is contributing $1.3bn (£1bn) to cover costs of the games but its contribution to Tokyo will not increase, according to Gakuji Ito, the organising committee's chief financial officer.
Audits by the Japanese government over the last few years, however, suggest the costs are higher than officially stated and are at least $25bn (£18.6bn).
The Olympics are due open on July 23 2021, with the Paralympics following on August 24.
Tokyo initially estimated the Olympics would cost about $7.5billion (£5.6bn) when the IOC awarded the games in 2013.
An Oxford University study earlier this year said Tokyo is the most expensive Summer Olympics on record.
Japanese government entities are responsible for all of the costs except for $6.7bn (£5bn) in a privately funded operating budget.
Organisers in October announced cost reductions of $280m (£209m), cutting out frills including hospitality offerings.
However, no cuts have been made to the sports program with a full complement of 11,000 athletes and tens of thousands of officials, judges, and sponsors expected to attend.
Decisions about fans and preventive measures for the pandemic are expected to be confirmed in 2021.
Japan has controlled COVID-19 better than most countries with just over 2,800 deaths attributed to the virus. But new cases have been rising for a month, adding to public scepticism about the Olympics.
