False declarations: the Tokyo Olympics cost 20% more than announced
The final balance sheet presented by the organizers of the last Summer Olympics is wrong. The Japanese Court of Auditors revealed that the Olympics ultimately cost 2 billion more.
the Tokyo 2020 Games cost around 11.89 billion francs.
AFP
The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, organized in 2021 a year late due to the pandemic, cost 20% more than the final figure communicated by the organizers, according to the Japanese Court of Auditors.
According to a report by this body published on Wednesday, the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games cost 1,699 billion yen (regarding 11.89 billion Swiss francs), instead of 1,424 billion yen (regarding 9.98 billion Swiss francs). francs) announced by the organizers last June.
Twice as expected in 2013
The Court of Auditors said the organizers had wrongly omitted to include certain government expenses related to the Olympics, including anti-doping measures, athlete training, Japanese food at the Olympic Village and the new Olympic stadium. In her report, she urged the government to ‘reveal (in future) full costs in a timely manner when substantially involved in a major event’.
In Tokyo’s candidacy file in 2013, the budget for these Olympics was estimated at 734 billion yen (5.14 billion francs), or half as much. But costs have skyrocketed, including the postponement of the event due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Olympics were also held almost behind closed doors because of Covid 19.
Bribery scandal
Government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters on Thursday that the government takes the SAI report “seriously” and will respond to it “appropriately”. In addition, a resounding scandal of bribes around sponsorship contracts for the Tokyo Olympics has erupted for a few months in Japan.
The first trial in the case opened on Thursday. The three defendants, former executives of Aoki Holdings, a Japanese clothing chain that was one of the sponsors of the 2020 Olympics, have pleaded guilty, according to Japanese television network NHK.
This scandal has clouded the candidacy of the city of Sapporo (northern Japan) for the Winter Olympics of 2030. The city hall of Sapporo has just suspended promotional events for this candidacy and plans to conduct a national poll to gauge the support of public opinion.
AFP
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