The Tokyo Olympics is already the most expensive Summer Games on record. Its costs are set to go higher, as per a wide-ranging study from the University of Oxford.
The Tokyo Olympics’ cost overrun exceeds 200%, as explained by lead author Bent Flyvbjerg. This is even before several billion more dollars are added due to the one-year delay from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Flyvbjerg is an economist at Oxford’s Said Business School. His study is to be published on September 15. It is titled Regression to the Tail: Why the Olympics Blow Up. Tokyo Olympics, postponed until July 23, 2021, is only a small part of the focus.
The study looks at Olympic costs since 1960. It finds they keep increasing despite claims by the International Olympic Committee that costs are being cut.
“The trend cannot continue. No city will want to do this because it’s just too expensive, putting themselves into a debt that most cities cannot afford,” Mr. Flyvbjerg said.
Mr. Flyvbjerg writes: “Unfortunatley, Olympics officials and hosts often misinform about the costs and cost overruns of the Games. … We therefore cannot count on organisers, the IOC, and the governments to provide us with reliable information about the real costs, cost overruns, and cost risks of the Olympic Games.”
According to the Oxford numbers, Tokyo’s spending is at $15.84 billion. It is already surpassing the 2012 London Olympics, which were the most expensive summer games to date at $14.95 billion. He expects several billion more from the cost of the one-year delay.
Tokyo organisers have officially stated that they are spending $12.6 billion. However, a national auditor says that the actual costs are twice of that.
Tokyo said the cost would be $7.3 billion when it won the bid in 2013.