Covid-19 Adds $2.5 Billion to Tokyo Olympics Bill
By: Alastair Gale (WSJ)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
TOKYO—Next summer's Olympics in Tokyo will cost at least an extra $2.5 billion because of the Covid-19 pandemic, event organizers said.
The International Olympic Committee and organizers in Japan say they are confident the Games can go ahead in July after a one-year postponement, but costs have been piling up and opinion polls show the Japanese public would prefer a further delay or cancellation.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Friday that leaders around the world have told him they supported his determination to hold the Olympics "as proof that humanity has rallied together and defeated the virus."
The Japanese organizers have now put a figure on new costs to host the event. Those include fees to rebook facilities and pay additional wages of staff, as well as virus testing and other measures at the event to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Costs directly related to the delay are expected to total around $1.5 billion, around half of which will be covered by event sponsors and insurance payouts triggered by the delay, Tokyo 2020 Chief Executive Toshiro Muto said.
Other costs, including around $1 billion to fund coronavirus countermeasures, will be covered by the city of Tokyo and Japan’s national government, the organizers said.
The figures don’t include any costs to pay for coronavirus vaccines. The IOC has said it hopes vaccines will be available for athletes and officials, and it has suggested it will help pay for them. In May, the IOC said it had set aside $650 million for costs related to the postponement of the Games.
The new costs raise the stakes for Olympic organizers as they press ahead with planning for a Summer Games that is already the most expensive, according to a study by Oxford University in England. Warm-up events to check the readiness of venues and staff have been penciled in for the spring.
The official budget for the Games before the new costs was around $12.6 billion, but an estimate from Japan’s Board of Audit last year highlighted other related costs that would push total spending over $20 billion.
The new burden on the Japanese taxpayer may further sour sentiment toward the Olympics. A mid-November poll by TV Asahi found about one-third of Japanese think the Games should go ahead as planned, while nearly a third wanted a further delay and another third say they should be canceled. Almost 20% of tickets sold in Japan have been returned for a refund.
Mr. Muto said the IOC has agreed to waive its share of income from new funds provided by sponsors to help cover the new costs. He highlighted continuing work to cut costs by scaling down festivities related to the Games.
“I really hope the Japanese people will understand our efforts,” Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori said.
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