2021 Tokyo Olympics Already Most Over Budget Games In Recent History By Over $7 Billion

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 was postponed to 2021 which will end up costing the country of Japan even more than the significant amount already needed to host any Olympic Games. According to data the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 is already the most over-budget Games for absolute dollar values at around $7.2 billion over budget

Olympics Frequently Over Budget – Tokyo 2021 Already Most Over Budget in History

Hosting the Summer Olympics is considered a top honour for a nation with the richest countries usually battling it out to host the prestigious event next. The cost of hosting the Summer Olympic Games however has been under the spotlight in recent history as people have become more aware of the financial ramifications that hosting the event could have.

A study of the more recent Games shows that hosting the Olympic Games comes at an enormous cost and usually results in an overrun of the budget. Before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the 1992 Barcelona Games claimed the unwanted honor of being the most over-budget Games as the final bill came to $7 billion – a staggering 266% over the initial budget of $2.6 billion.

London 2012 is the most expensive running of the Olympic Games in history with a final bill of just under $15 billion, despite already having an initial budget of close to $9 billion. 

COVID-19 Pandemic Postpones 2020 Games and Further Adds to Cost and Controversies

After both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Japanese Government received wide-spread criticism for a delay in postponing the games despite the clear dangers of COVID-19, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe finally announced in late March that the Games will be postponed until 2021.

Initial assessments of the delay indicated that postponement costs could get as high as $6 billion, but it has since been widely reported that the postponement would cost close to $2 billion. The delay has also already resulted in tension between the Japanese government and the IOC, with debate over who will foot the bill for the delay.

Current cost estimates without the cost of the postponement already make the Tokyo Olympic Games the second most expensive Olympic Games in history. However, with the final price tag often far costlier than estimates, the Tokyo Olympic Games look set to become the most expensive Olympic Games in history when it is eventually held.

A Third of the Japanese Surveyed Believe The Olympic Games Should Be Cancelled Altogether

With COVID-19 still ravaging different parts of the world, many in Japan are uncertain about the Olympic Games proceeding, even in 2021.

A survey in August showed that 33.7% of 1000+ respondents believe that the Tokyo Olympic Games should be cancelled altogether while another 36.4% believe that it should be postponed further. 

75.3% of respondents believed that the pandemic would not be contained anytime soon as their reason for their desire to cancel or postpone the Games. 12.7% indicated that they wanted the Japanese government to prioritize fighting the virus more while a further 5.3% pointed to the additional costs to be too high. 

Andy Murray is the two-time reigning men’s Olympic gold-medal champion. Monica Puig captured the women’s singles gold medal representing Puerto Rico at the 2016 Rio Games.