TOKYO • Tokyo Olympics organisers sought to reassure Japan's public that the cost for hosting the Games next year will not exceed budgeted estimates, amid worries over possible overruns caused partly by late venue switches for the marathon and walking events.
"We will keep telling the public that costs will stay at 1.35 trillion yen (S$16.7 billion) and won't rise from here," Toshiro Mutoh, chief executive of Tokyo 2020, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
But the budgeted figure reportedly did not include an estimated 3 billion yen needed to move the marathon and walking races of the Games - which run from July 24 to Aug 9 - to the northern city of Sapporo.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stunned organisers in October by announcing the decision to avoid the worst of Tokyo's summer heat.
Last week, Tokyo 2020's finance director Gakuji Ito said: "For the additional fee, of course we need to discuss with the IOC."
Mutoh did not comment on who would be footing the bill for moving the venue, saying only that it would be the next big issue that needed to be sorted out by stakeholders including the Tokyo and Sapporo municipal governments.
"There's an incentive to make the budget appear as small as possible. But you do need money to host the Games. As a compromise, you may need to lower the level of service. But garnering a consensus for this is very difficult," he said.
The decision to move the marathon and race walk events to Sapporo also enraged Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who had insisted that the prestigious events remain in the capital.
Mutoh said that while there were "problems" in the process in which the decision was made, it was an appropriate one to protect athletes.
"The process was a bit abrupt. But the decision was the right one," he said.
"If we proceeded with our original plan to hold the marathon and race walk (races) in Tokyo, and ended up having athletes being sent to hospitals, the public backlash could be huge."
He countered criticism that the budget for hosting Tokyo 2020 has far exceeded initial estimates, saying the disparity was due to the difference in the definition of "Games-related"costs.
Expenditures for launching a weather-monitoring satellite and promoting environment-friendly vehicles, for instance, were defined as "Games-related" spending by Japan's Board of Audit, even though they were for more general purposes, Mutoh said.
Earlier this year, Los Angeles 2028 Olympics chiefs unveiled details of a US$6.9 billion (S$9.33 billion) budget for the Games, vowing to deliver the spectacle without cost overruns.
The budget for the Paris 2024 Games amounts to €6.8 billion (S$10.24 billion), €1.5 billion of which will come from the state.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
