Tokyo 2021: soon to be the most expensive Olympic Games in history?

The bill kept climbing.

Between postponement, reimbursement of tickets and additional health measures, the organizers of the Tokyo Olympics knew that the final bill would be tough.

This Tuesday, they have just announced that the global amount has now reached the colossal figure of 13 billion euros (1644 billion yen).

This new budget exceeds the initial forecasts by 2.3 billion euros.

This overtaking makes Tokyo 2021 the most expensive Summer Games in history, ahead of those organized in London in 2012 (12.2 billion euros).

Logistics costs, including transport, security, communication or marketing expenses, are now estimated at 5.8 billion euros (731 billion yen), a jump of 19% compared to the previous budget presented at the end of 2019.

The record: 21.9 billion euros

Tokyo's bill fell short of the record amount of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, which cost a staggering 21.9 billion euros.

This competition remains the most expensive in Olympic history, according to a study from the University of Oxford published in September.

For Tokyo, the increase is, of course, due to the Covid-19 pandemic which forced the postponement of the Olympics, a first in peacetime history.

Between the reimbursement of pre-sold tickets, the reservation of transport, the extension of the contracts of the staff of the organizing committee and the renegotiation of the agreements with the sponsors, the open sites all contributed to the inflation.

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The organizers thus had to reimburse 810,000 tickets purchased in Japan, or nearly a fifth of the seats sold in the country.

Among the avenues for savings, they have already reduced the number of free tickets or official guests.

The ceremonies have also been revised.

The financial aspect will not help raise the popularity of the Olympic Games in the Japanese capital.

The organizers last week recognized a majority opposition from the population of the city and more generally of the country to the organization of the event from July 23 to August 8.

The Japanese fear a relaunch of the epidemic with the massive arrival of thousands of visitors.