Tokyo 2020 organizers unveiled on Wednesday a budget of $16.8B for hosting the next Summer Games and "vowed to seek further savings" in cooperation with the IOC which "has been calling for them to cut costs," according to Chris Gallagher of REUTERS. At an open meeting of a four-party working group that includes the IOC, organizers said that they estimated overall costs of 1.6T yen-1.8T yen ($15B-$16.8B), the "first official figures they have released since winning hosting rights." At a previous meeting about three weeks ago, organizers said costs could run to as much as 2T yen ($17B), a level that IOC VP John Coates had "deemed too high." Coates said, "We are pleased with the progress we are continuing to make." He noted that a $4.7B portion of the organizing committee's budget "would all be paid for through sponsorship, IOC contributions and other private funds, at zero cost to the public," meaning they were "really looking at a budget" of $12.1B. Organizers noted a rise in construction costs, "which have jumped due to rebuilding from Japan's earthquake and tsunami five years ago." They also said that the projected cost of temporary facilities had "more than doubled as the bid file had not accounted for items like design costs, surrounding greenery and temporary toilets." In addition, they have now set a budget of $1B-$2.8B for "contingencies" and a $3.8B service budget for transport, security and other costs "that had not been included in their bid" (REUTERS, 12/21).
