Costs for Delayed Tokyo 2020 a Major Concern

(ATR) While the IOC has not proposed direct financial compensation to Tokyo 2020 organizers yet, it has pledged "a strong spirit of cooperation" in managing and slashing operational costs where possible.

A joint steering committee led byTokyo 2020 coordination commission chair John Coates and Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori will oversee the delivery process for a Games delayed by one year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mori addressed the financial burdens that Japan now faces during a remote news conference following the latest Executive Project Review meeting.

"We are in the midst of studying and reviewing the possible additional costs," Mori told journalists from Tokyo on Thursday. "Of course we know we will pay what we will have to pay, however the general direction is towards reducing the costs to whatever extent possible."

Coates suggested there will be strategies explored and measures taken by the IOC to limit costs but added those decisions will not affect athletes negatively.

"Nothing will impact the quality of the competition or the fields of play or what is expected in the Olympic village for these athletes," Coates said. "All athlete services will remain the same, but there must be other areas of hosting a Games where we can look at and decide what are the ‘must haves’ and what are the ‘nice to haves’.

"We will weigh all of the ‘nice to haves’ to see if they give us an opportunity to not only reduce the costs and scope of these Games, but how they can have an impact on how we present the Olympic Games in the future."

Nearly 500 journalists participated in the joint IOC and Tokyo 2020 remote press conference that lasted more than an hour.

Tokyo organizers insisted that the same competition venues and event schedule will remain, however additional costs involved with securing the 43 venues – some publicly owned and some privately – one year later remain uncertain.

"There are various venues involved that have different contracts and different entities which own the venues, so all situations are different," Mori said.

"We have to look into every different case very elaborately, very carefully," he added. "We want to have a finely textured approach on our side to deal with the consultation with the venue owners.

"When we deal with them in good faith taking all necessary steps, then we will be able to request cooperation on their part."

Mori addressed concerns regarding costs and challenges in extending the use of the Olympic Village for an additional year. The Tokyo 2020 chief executive officer advised that consultation with 11 contracted construction companies is ongoing.

"When it comes to the specified construction companies they are more than amenable to the consultation that we are seeking, but we have not come to any conclusion yet," Mori said. "We would like to proceed as expeditiously as possible."

It was also announced that a new Tokyo 2020 Games roadmap will be implemented in May.

Coates painted a rosy picture in his assessment of how the delivery of the rescheduled Games could provide financial benefits to the Japanese economy following hardships and shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"These Games can be a very positive opportunity for an economic stimulus, to kick-start the economy again, these Games can be a rebirth of the tourist industry and opportunities for hotel operators to be realized.

"These Games will obviously provide jobs and there will be new events in the spring," said the Australian NOC chief.

Coates also advised that the IOC will do whatever it can to assist NOCs and IFs which may struggle financially due to both the postponement of the Games and the lack of current events providing income streams.

"We are discussing with the international federations and national Olympic committees what these additional costs are to keep them afloat in many cases," Coates said. "We will not stand back and see our international federations collapse, we will be helping them."

While both Mori and Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto have made recent comments about the uncertainty surrounding the Games in 2021 with no further contingency plans, Coates tried to offer reassurance.

"Certainly a factor in the decision to go as late as possible to the same dates in 2021, rather than some suggestions that we go in spring of next year gives us as much time as possible," he said. "I think you know the curve is flattening to different extents in different countries around the world depending on measures they are taking.

"We have gone on the advice of the WHO and health authorities and we will continue to monitor that situation.

"We’re giving ourselves as much time as possible and we’ll continue, as always, to follow the guiding principles being the health of the athletes and other participants of the Games."

Written and reported by Brian Pinelli and Hironori Hashimoto

For general comments or questions,click here.

Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.