IOC Coordination Commission Chair John Coates said that a total of 30 cost-cutting measures proposed by Tokyo 2020 "could save" around $100M from the running of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to Liam Morgan of INSIDE THE GAMES. The list of measures is currently being analyzed by the IOC, which "promised to respond" to Tokyo 2020 by Aug. 1. Coates "vowed that savings would be made right up until" the closing ceremony of the Games on August 9, 2020. He said that National Olympic Committees attending the Coordination Commisson meetings agreed to a change in the date their athletes can move into the Olympic and Paralympic Village "in one example of a cost-cutting measure." The athletes' village was initially due to open 12 days before the opening ceremony on July 24 "but it will now be available to competitors from 10 days prior to the start of the Games" (INSIDE THE GAMES, 7/12).
'EXTREME HEAT': KYODO's Sam Green reported the IOC is planning measures to combat the "extreme heat" that could pose a health risk to athletes, spectators and workers during the 2020 Olympics. The timing of the Games is "causing concerns" that temperatures in excess of 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) and high humidity "common to the capital in summertime" will "pose a risk of dehydration and heatstroke." Coates said, "We are mindful that we do need to prepare for extreme heat. But this is not the first country to host Games in extreme heat and the effect of this is something I was addressing when I visited the rowing course" (KYODO, 7/12).
