2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Costs Need To Fall, Says IOC Vice President

Photo Courtesy: The Japan Times

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Vice President John Coates of the International Olympic Committee stressed during this week’s evaluation of Tokyo’s preparation for the 2020 Olympic Games that the price of hosting the Games needs to continue to come down. In an article that detailed the Vice President’s visit in USA Today, Coates emphasized that the cost of hosting needs to decrease in order to attract potential candidate cities in the future.

The article goes on to explain that the estimated cost of hosting the 2020 Olympic Games has nearly doubled since Tokyo won the bid as a host city. Organizers estimated the cost of the Games to be 730 billion yen ($6.6 billion) back in September of 2013 when they were awarded hosting duties. That number has since blossomed to an estimated 1.4 trillion yen ($12.6 billion).

This expected increase in cost comes after there have already been cost-cutting measures put in place by the IOC since Thomas Bach stepped in as President of the IOC. That includes encouraging Tokyo to avoid building new facilities by finding existing facilities for the Games, which organizers in Tokyo have already begun.

A plan is moving to move the baseball and softball events to nearby Fukushima. That area was hit with an earthquake and nuclear disaster in 2011, and the IOC and local organizers are eager to use the Games as an opportunity to highlight the recovery of that region.

While local organizers state they may have saved close to 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion) already through cost-cutting protocols, some estimates do have the cost of the event continuing to rise as we move towards 2020. Coates, who is the head of the IOC’s Coordination Commission for the 2020 Games, says the IOC will continue to work with the city of Tokyo and local organizers to bring the cost down in the future.

You can read the full story from USA Today here.

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