COVID-19 Impact: Tokyo Olympics cost up by USD 2.8 billion due to one-year delay

Tokyo Olympics organising committee revealed the budget allocations for the upcoming Games in 2021 and also conceded that the cost of hosting the summer extravaganza has gone up by USD 2.8 billion due to the one-year delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the organising committee, revealed that the 2021 Olympic Games will now cost them $15.4 billion to stage instead of the $12.6 billion they would have had to shell out in 2020.

“The Tokyo Olympics are operating in a very tough environment. We want to build the best possible system by continuing to interact with the relevant organisations of doctors and nurses,” Tokyo Olympics chief executive Toshiro Muto told reporters.

“It’s still a big issue for us to secure as many medical staff as we hope for when faced with a situation where private medical institutions



are struggling with management because of the coronavirus,” Muto said.

It was also announced that USD 900 million would be spent on coronavirus measures alone.

The COVID-19 countermeasures will include PCR testing infrastructure, setting up a clinic, as well as creating remote coverage set-ups and countermeasures at food and drink processing centres, the budget summary showed.

Organisers in October announced cost reductions of $280 million, 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 rolled out in the spring. Reduced fan numbers will affect ticket sales, a major source of income.