TOKYO • After the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Games, Paralympics chief Andrew Parsons is focused on consolidating losses and protecting smaller national federations stung by the change.
The decision was made last month to postpone the Olympics from July 23 to Aug 8 next year because of the coronavirus pandemic, while the Paralympics will run from Aug 24 to Sept 5.
It has left the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) with a cash flow issue as broadcasters and other partners look to defer planned payments until next year.
"One immediate impact of the Games postponement is change of cash flow," IPC president Parsons said during a teleconference with journalists on Wednesday. "We have nearly, this week, completed an exercise reviewing more than 150 Games-related contracts.
"One example is the broadcasters; we won't have the Games until 2021 so some of them already asked if they can delay final payments to 2021, which we can of course understand. All of our partners have been hugely supportive."
The Brazilian did not clarify how much money was on the line but stressed that he has not turned to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for support.
According to the Associated Press, Parsons is aiming to cut 5 per cent from the budget, which was listed at €24.1 million (S$37.3 million) in the 2018 IPC annual report. The IPC gets millions of dollars from the IOC under a 2018 agreement but Parsons declined to provide the specific figure.
Broadcast rights and sponsorship income accounts for 91 per cent of the IOC's revenues of US$5.7 billion (S$8.1 billion) in a four-year Olympic cycle.
"We are trying to solve the issues internally," he said.
"Cancelled events and changed plans come at a cost to our members, who are normally not big and rich organisations.
"Some have already paid entry fees, hotels and tickets for events that have been cancelled, so we are helping them with that and liaising with the local organising committee on how some of this money can go back to the National Paralympic Committees.
"The best-case scenario for us, when it comes to accommodation, is that the hotels where there is already an agreement for this year... they can offer the same service next year without having to charge a penalty fee."
Another top priority for the 43-year-old is making sure that progress towards making Tokyo a more accessible city in time for the Paralympics does not stall.
The Tokyo metropolitan government says 850 accessible hotel rooms will be needed in addition to the athletes village during the Paralympics but it is currently short of that.
The IPC has been working with existing hotels to build new accessible rooms.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, hotels are struggling and Parsons is keen that they do not lose focus on accessibility goals. He said: "It took a lot of time and effort to get this ball moving and so we don't want to go back because of the postponement."
REUTERS
