Tokyo Olympics postponed to 2021: Who will pay the bills for another year?

The organisers of the Tokyo Olympic Games (Tokyo 2020) will set up a task force to resolve the issues arising after the postponement of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Tokyo Olympics has been delayed by a year till the summer of 2021 as Covid-19 or coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc across the world. Now, the organizers of the Tokyo Olympic Games (Tokyo 2020) will set up task force to resolve the issues arising after the postponement of the Olympic and Paralympic Games

Tokyo 2020 officials said that the Planning Task Force, which will be officially called TBD, will hold its first meeting on Thursday at its headquarters, with president Yoshiro Mori and CEO Toshiro Muto participating, Xinhua reported.

However, after the postponement of Tokyo Olympics, the multi-billion-dollar question that comes to mind is who will pay the bills for the delay, and how large will they be? The most likely answer is the Japanese taxpayers.

Here’s a look at the sharp escalation in costs that’s likely to take place:

$2.7billion

The Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei has put the added cost at $2.7 billion, citing an estimate from local organizers.

Organisers

Organisers will have to renegotiate new leases on venues, pay for maintenance at arenas, and maybe find different fields of play. They will also have to deal with real estate developers who are already selling off thousands of apartments at what will be the Athletes Village. The organizing committee also employs 3,500 staff members, and some may lose their jobs to cost cutting.

$3.3billion

Tokyo has sold $3.3 billion in local sponsorships, more than twice any previous Olympics. Those brands will be clamouring to know what they get for their money. Refunds? Make-good deals? New contracts?

Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 will be postponed: IOC member Dick Pound

The IOC said on Sunday the body would wait four more weeks before announcing its decision on the fate of the July 24-August 9 Games, amid mounting calls for them to be rescheduled.

Senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) official Dick Pound said Monday a postponement of this year's Tokyo Olympics is now inevitable as the world reels from the coronavirus pandemic.

The IOC said on Sunday the body would wait four more weeks before announcing its decision on the fate of the July 24-August 9 Games, amid mounting calls for them to be rescheduled.

Pound however believes the IOC -- which ruled out a cancellation of the Games -- is now laying the groundwork for a postponement.

"My interpretation of the IOC's communications is they don't want to cancel, and they don't think they can continue with the July 24 date," Pound told AFP. "So you're looking at the 'P' word - postponement.

"They're going to explore options with the Japanese of course, and then there all kinds of stakeholders -- international federations, NOCs, athletes.

"And then in four weeks they're going to try and come out with a plan B and make it as specific as they can make it in that time period." Pound, who is Canadian, said the "astonishing" spread of COVID-19 across the globe left the IOC with no other choice.

"This is not something that's going to clear up by July 24," Pound said.

"And this thing isn't going to go away by September or October. A lot of the biggest countries in the world are just about overwhelmed, and it's just starting to take root in Africa. It's a no-go in my view." A one-year postponement to 2021 remained the most likely option, Pound added.

"I think the one-year postponement is the most feasible because it gives you the most time to organise," he said.

Olympics in 2020 'neither feasible or desirable': World Athletics chief

The IOC and Japanese government, under increasing pressure to take action, have flagged that postponement was possible.

World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe has written a letter to International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, calling in postponement of Tokyo Olympic Games amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In his letter, Coe has said that an Olympics in July 2020 is "neither feasible or desirable" because of the coronavirus crisis, reports BBC Sport.

"No-one wants to see the Olympic Games postponed but as I have said publicly, we cannot hold the event at all costs, certainly not at the cost of athlete safety, and a decision on the Olympic Games must become very obvious very quickly.

"I believe that time has come and we owe it to our athletes to give them respite where we can," the letter stated.

The Tokyo Games are due to start from July 24 but the rising concern over the spread of coronavirus and the havoc it has wreaked on the qualification calendar has led to questions being raised on whether the organisers can go through with the scheduled date.

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The IOC and Japanese government, under increasing pressure to take action, have flagged that postponement was possible. IOC has stated that postponing the 2020 Olympics is one option amid the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, although it added that cancelling the Games altogether is "not on the agenda.

Bach, in an open letter to athletes around the world, said a decision on when to hold the Games would be made "within the next four weeks".

Canada has already announced that they will not send their athletes to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games due to the COVID-19 which has claimed over 14,000 lives across the world.