The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee are working on simplifying the event to save $280 million.
Officials presented a total of 52 cost-cutting actions to the IOC in a virtual meeting. The initiative aims to reduce the economic impact of delaying the sporting event to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a virtual press meet, Toshiro Muto, Tokyo 2020 CEO, said, “We believe that these efforts will help create a model for future games, within the new normality in which we live.”
The list of cuts that have already been approved by the IOC will affect 52 sectors, including a reduction in the number of participating delegations and a reduction or elimination of various institutional events. The implementation of these measures will not affect athletes and sporting events.
All of these measures will reduce expenses by around $280 million, two percent of the $12.57 billion budget that has been approved for the games.
This budget does not include any expenses from the delay of the event, a cost that has not yet been specified by the organizers.
Several estimates place the additional expenditure at close to $3 billion without including the price of measures guarding against Covid-19.
“The next step, taking into account this simplification, will be to determine the total cost of the delay. We are now in the process of estimating it,” Muto said.
Muto admitted that the organizing committee is insisting that there is still room for further savings and will continue with its simplification efforts, which will be reflected in the final version of the budget that will be presented later this year.
IOC president Thomas Bach said, “You have to realize that most of the expenditure had already been made because everybody was preparing for the Games taking place this year. You can’t just start to draw on a blank piece of paper. You have very limited room to maneuver. Looking at these circumstances in an operational budget, coming to these savings of $280m is a very significant result.”