TOKYO, Nov 29, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – The coronavirus-delayed Tokyo
Olympics could cost $1.9 billion more than its original budget of $13
billion, a 15 percent increase, a report said Sunday.
The Olympics organisers will formally decide the increased budget
for the Games as early as mid-December after communicating with the
Japanese government and the host city Tokyo, the Yomiuri Shimbun
reported, citing unnamed Olympic sources.
The 2020 Games were pushed back a year as Covid-19 spread around
the globe, and are now scheduled to open on July 23, 2021.
But the delay has thrown up a plethora of new costs, from rebooking
venues and transport to retaining the huge organising committee staff.
With many countries experiencing second or even third waves of
infection, there have been doubts about whether the event can be
staged, but organisers and Olympic officials insist it can be done
safely.
The extra 200 billion yen ($1.9 billion) on the pre-coronavirus
estimate of 1.35 trillion yen ($13 billion) comes despite organisers
last month slashing $280 million by cutting everything from staffing
to pyrotechnics, but the new figure does not include costs of the
coronavirus-related measures, the report said.
Officials expect the virus-linked measures will be paid by the
Japanese government, it said.
Plans for a lower-key, lower-cost Olympics were unveiled in
September, with fewer free tickets, athlete welcome ceremonies being
scrapped and savings on banners, mascots and meals.
The report comes after a senior official on Friday said Tokyo
Olympics test events will resume in March and a decision on fan
attendance will be made in the spring.
Organisers and officials are considering a long list of possible
virus countermeasures that they hope will make it possible to hold the
Games, even if a vaccine is not available.
International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach earlier this
month said he was “very confident” the Games will have fans.
But enthusiasm for the Games appears to have waned in Japan, with
polls over the summer finding just one in four Japanese people wanted
to see them happen, and most backing either a further postponement or
outright cancellation.
Officials of the Tokyo Olympics organising committee could not
immediately be reached for comment.