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Preparations For Tokyo Games Begin In Earnest, Though Some Big Issues Still Exist

The next three Olympics "are in Asian countries that have already held games" -- South Korea, Japan and China -- but that "doesn't mean they'll be easy, particularly for Tokyo" in '20, according to Stephen Wade of the AP. IOC VP John Coates, who heads the inspection team for Tokyo, said, "I don't think that you can ever relax. There are some big issues, even for Tokyo." Wade notes Tokyo's operating budget for "running the games themselves" was $3.5B in the original bid document. However, officials said that it will "be revised upward to account for inflation and unexpected costs." That "does not include building roads and other infrastructure." Tokyo organizers say that 50% of the venues "already exist, though they have not made public the cost for building new venues and preparing the city." Constructing "scaled-down venues -- following Rio's model -- could still be costly in Japan." The buildings "must be earthquake-proof, and Japanese taste might not accept stripped-down architecture." Tokyo proposed "compact games in its winning bid three years ago," but venues have been "spread out to save money and take advantage of existing structures." The city "has a sophisticated transport system, but it's crowded and not particularly foreigner-friendly." Coates said that getting around "might be more complex than Rio, which was difficult in a city sliced up by the sea, mountains and poor roads" (AP, 8/23).

ECONOMIC BOOST: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Mitsuru Obe noted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is hoping the '20 Tokyo Games "will provide Japan with a psychological boost, help him revive the nation’s struggling economy and breathe life into the business of sports." Japan has already earmarked $7.3B to "build a new stadium and other infrastructure in anticipation of the Olympics, a figure expected to rise." Abe "hopes the Olympics will help him meet his goal of doubling the annual number tourists to the country to 40 million" by '20, two years after his term ends. Abe also "proposes to make sports 'a core industry' as part of his effort to boost Japan’s nominal GDP by 20%" from its '15 level. The government "wants to double the sports industry by 2020 and triple it by 2025, making sports entertainment part of everyday life." Abe also is "calling for building more attractive sports stadiums, expanding audience engagement programs at sports events, increasing sports-related travel, and popularizing sports viewing at pubs and restaurants" (WSJ.com, 8/22). 

BETTER THAN EXPECTED: Post-mortems from the Rio Games continue to roll in, with the TORONTO STAR's Doug Smith noting Rio pulled the Olympics off "without any huge, monstrous difficulties and they should be lauded for it" (TORONTO STAR, 8/23). In Salt Lake City, Christopher Kamrani notes despite all the "pre-Games fears and criticism, Rio stood tall during the Olympic fortnight and mostly pulled it off" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 8/23). In California, Jeff Miller writes, "Given what it had to work with, Rio actually did a remarkable job." The Games "came and went without even a public hint of terrorist activity" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 8/23). In San Diego, Mark Zeigler writes the Games ended "without anything really, really bad happening despite forecasts that it would." There were "plenty of little issues (buses never showing up) and a few medium-sized ones (a green diving pool), but no events got canceled and nobody got killed." However, Brazil "had so many problems that were so publicized in the run-up that, you’d think, will deter foreign tourism and investment." There is a "difference between hosting an Olympics and organizing an Olympics," and Brazil "excelled at the former, fumbled at the latter" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 8/23).

NEW MODEL NEEDED: In N.Y., Michael Powell notes the Rio Games "underline that the Olympic model is fractured." Rio is now "left with stadiums for which it has little use and swimming pools far removed from the working class who could dearly use them." The IOC "has taken steps toward reform," but what it demands of nations "is basically unchanged: Build us expensive monuments with a shelf life of two weeks." The solution could be to place the Games in L.A., London or Paris, "or seek a permanent home in Athens, which has historical and emotional resonance." Powell asks, "What if the IOC ... had awarded Rio de Janeiro three cycles of Olympics: 2016, 2020 and 2024?" City officials "would have time to learn and grow, to ride out a bad recession and market Rio as a true Olympic city" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/23). In DC, Deron Snyder writes considering the cost of "starting from scratch, rotating the international gathering among just a few nations with experience and existing infrastructure would be the smartest option for the IOC." However, that is also the "least lucrative, leaving palms empty and pockets unlined" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 8/23). 

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