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Athletes who’ve spent their whole lives training for the Olympics won’t be the only ones hurting because of the one-year postponement of the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
Professor Katsuhiro Miyamoto, an economics professor emeritus from Kansai University, told ESPN that Tokyo could suffer $5.7 billion in losses after the coronavirus triggered the first-ever postponement in the history of the Olympics, which had already cost the host city an estimated $30 billion. Included in the city’s new costs will be maintaining the stadiums and the Olympic Village. The absence of an anticipated 600,000 tourists is one of the biggest blows to Japan’s economy.
The logistical issues are another nightmare for the country, requiring contract renegotiations and rebookings of hotels, equipment, tents, trailers, contractors, generators, seats, broadcasters, warehouses, maintenance, as well as re-hiring 14,000 security guards and training 80,000 volunteers. Organizers must also find new dates for the 43 venues used for every event, with several already booked for next summer.
Because of the economic catastrophes inflicted upon so many businesses by COVID-19, many Olympic sponsors are glad to see the Games postponed.
“The actual impact of moving the games for many brands is likely a bit of a relief right now,” Richard Barker, managing director of international advertising agency M&C Saatchi, told ESPN. “There is so much else going on in the world that the idea of having another year to build up to what will be a very special Games, seems like a great beacon of hope to focus on. In terms of budgets, there will be some immediate impacts to manage, but a lot of it won’t be wasted work, much of it can be paused and reinvigorated for 2021 around Tokyo 2020 with a far bigger contextual story than it had before this crisis emerged.”
NBC, which broadcasts the Games, has insurance in case of postponement or cancellation, but will have to draw up new deals with advertisers. Nearly 5 million tickets have already been sold in Japan, but it is unclear if refunds will be made available.
