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Tokyo 2020 costs rise to $15.4bn

The official cost of Tokyo’s rescheduled Olympics has risen to $15.4bn (£11.5bn/€12.6bn) after the organising committee for the Games released its revised budget earlier today (Tuesday).

The Tokyo 2020 organising committee unveiled its ‘version five’ budget today in conjunction with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) and the Government of Japan. The budget comprises the OCOG budget, which is the responsibility of Tokyo 2020, and the other entities budget, which is the responsibility of the city and national governments.

Tokyo 2020 said the revised budget reflects the reduction of expenses arising from simplification measures that are being introduced amid COVID-19. The budget is an update on the version four budget announced in December 2019.

The total cost of the Games now stands at $15.4bn, including the OCOG budget of $6.7bn. The cost comprises the $12.6bn forecasted in the version four budget, plus the OCOG’s contingency fund of $300m and the additional costs due to COVID-19 of $2.5bn, including $600m of additional Paralympic Games costs.

Total expenses have increased by $900m – including $300m for Paralympic expenses – to $6.7bn when compared with the version four budget.

The OCOG budget foresees revenues increasing by $700m, which will help cover the additional expenditures arising from the postponement. A further $100m in additional expenditures will be met by the TMG if they cannot be covered by Tokyo 2020.

The OCOG budget also includes $1.2bn of temporary and overlay facility expenditures, an increase of $300m on the version budget; operational expenditures of $1.6bn, an increase of $400m; and general affairs and communication expenditures of $800m, an increase of $200m.

The total expenditures that will be borne by the TMG will be $6.6bn, up by $1bn from the version four budget. This includes an increase of $100m for the Paralympics and $400m to cover the cost of COVID-19 countermeasures. The TMG will also cover the balance of $100m of costs that cannot be covered by the organising committee’s efforts to reduce expenditures and increase revenues.

In total, the Government of Japan will cover $2.1bn in expenditures, an increase of $700m than includes the increase of $100m in the Paralympic Games budget and $500m to cover COVID-19 countermeasures.

The Games were officially postponed on March 24 as the global pandemic took hold, with the Olympics now set to take place from July 23 to August 8, followed by the Paralympics from August 24 to September 5.