Tokyo Olympics: Organizers say cost of postponement could reach USD 2.8 billion

The organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympic Games announced that the estimated cost of the postponement of the games from 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic could touch USD 2.8 billion. The committee has been estimating the impact of the delay with regard to finances ever since the decision to postpone the games were made by the Japanese Government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in March.

The Tokyo government will reportedly pay 120 billion yen while the organizers will pay 103 billion yet. The Japanese government will contribute 71 billion yen, the organizers said in a statement today. The IOC will also contribute USD 650 million to cover the costs.

‘Tokyo’s costs are Tokyo’s costs’ – Toshiro Muto

Speaking about the estimation of costs, the CEO of Tokyo 2020, Toshiro Muto said in a statement, “Tokyo’s costs are Tokyo’s costs. Tokyo 2020’s (allocation) is revenue that we can secure. Within this revenue we have additional sponsorship that we have requested from partners and we also have insurance.”

Muto also spoke about a conversation he had with the president of the IOC, Thomas Bach. “I had a video conference last night with IOC President Bach. President Bach expressed his strong determination that the IOC and us should work as one team and cooperate to ensure the success of the Games.”

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