Winter Olympics 2030: Japan projects cost for a Sapporo Games bid at US$2.6 billion
- ‘I realise there are concerns about the huge costs involved,’ insists Japanese Olympic Committee chief
- IOC technical team set to visit Sapporo this month, with Salt Lake City and Vancouver also in the running
Yasuhiro Yamashita, the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee, has acknowledged the biggest stumbling block to holding the Olympics is the billions in costs.
However, on Tuesday at an “All Japan” meeting to promote Sapporo’s bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics, he said if the northern Japanese city lands the Games, little new construction would be needed – a major expense for every Olympics.
“From both inside and outside our country, there are many views about hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Yamashista said, among politicians and business leaders online – and in Sapporo – talking up the bid. “I realise there are also concerns about the huge costs involved.”
The official cost for last year’s delayed Tokyo Olympics was US$13.6 billion, although government audits suggest it may have been much more. At least 60 per cent was public money.
Yamashita referred to a new host-selection policy promoted by the International Olympic Committee, which for decades encouraged building shining new arenas and stadiums that quickly became white elephants.