Tokyo Olympics Costs £ 11.5 Billion, Up 22% from Previous Estimates | Olympic News

The estimated cost of hosting the Tokyo Olympics has now risen to £ 11.5 billion after the Games had to be postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic; The Olympics are scheduled to open on July 23, 2021, followed by the Paralympics on August 24

Tokyo Olympics costs have risen sharply due to the one-year delay and associated costs

The official cost of the postponed Tokyo Olympics rose 22%, the local organizing committee revealed on Tuesday, unveiling its new budget.

In an online press conference, organizers said the Olympics would now cost $ 15.4 billion (£ 11.5 billion) to stage, up from $ 12.6 billion (9 , £ 4 billion) in last year’s budget.

The additional $ 2.8bn (£ 2.1bn) represents the cost of the one-year delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, with additional spending coming from contract renegotiations and measures to combat the COVID-19.

Budget shows the Switzerland-based International Olympic Committee is contributing $ 1.3 billion (£ 1 billion) to cover the costs of the games, but its contribution to Tokyo will not increase, according to Gakuji Ito, the committee’s chief financial officer organization.

Audits carried out by the Japanese government in recent years, however, suggest that the costs are higher than officially stated and are at least $ 25 billion (£ 18.6 billion).

The Olympic Games are scheduled to open on July 23, 2021, the Paralympics will follow on August 24.

Tokyo initially estimated that the Olympics would cost around $ 7.5 billion (£ 5.6 billion) when the IOC awarded the games in 2013.

A study from the University of Oxford earlier this year said Tokyo was the most expensive summer Olympics on record.

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Japanese government entities are responsible for all costs except for $ 6.7 billion (£ 5 billion) in a privately funded operating budget.

In October, organizers announced cost cuts of $ 280m (£ 209m), removing the frills, including hospitality offers.

However, no reduction has been made to the sports program with a full complement of 11,000 athletes and tens of thousands of officials, judges and sponsors expected.

Decisions on ventilators 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 over the past month, adding to public skepticism about the Olympics.