Under a "central government plan to build national support" for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 138 cities, towns and villages "had registered with the central government as of last week to serve as host towns." Under the initiative, "local governments will welcome Olympic and Paralympic delegations for cultural and sports events" prior to the Games. In some cases, host towns will also serve as official pre-Olympic training camps. The main purpose of the program is to "promote educational and sports exchanges between local residents and visiting athletes and coaches." The central government "will offer some financial support for the host towns" (JAPAN TIMES, 12/12).
The PyeongChang Organizing Committee (POCOG) for the 2018 Olympics named Duzon Bizon its official budget management software supporter. Duzon will support PyeongChang 2018 with budget management, cost accounting and operational staff management by utilizing its Enterprise Resource Planning System. In return, POCOG will grant various marketing rights including the use of the intellectual properties and marketing partner recognition program (POCOG).
A state court froze the assets of Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes on Friday after "a request by public prosecutors probing whether he improperly waived an environmental fee" for a company that built the golf course used during the 2016 Olympics. The decision, which also froze the assets of the builder, is based on Brazilian legislation that seeks to "ensure that those who deprive public coffers of revenue, through administrative or other means, remain responsible for the funds." The ruling, just four months after the Games ended, "casts further shadow on the contracts for venues and infrastructure built in Rio and elsewhere in Brazil" when the country was preparing to host the 2014 World Cup (REUTERS, 12/9).
The budget for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics may be revealed as early as Dec. 21 when the cost-reviewing four-party working group "holds a teleconference," an organizing committee source said Monday. The working group, made up of the IOC, the Tokyo Games Organizing Committee and the Japanese and Tokyo Metropolitan governments, is expected to announce a figure larger than the original 734B yen ($6.38B) declared during the bidding process (KYODO, 12/12).
