November 30
THE northern Japanese city of Sapporo announced Monday a significant cut to its projected hosting costs for the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, slashing the budget by 90 billion yen ($790 million) or 20 per cent of its initial estimate.
Sapporo, which hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, is considered a leading candidate to win the right to host the events, but local residents have expressed concern there would be a repeat of this year’s Tokyo Games budget blowout.
In its initial budget in 2019, the city expected costs to total between 310 billion yen and 370 billion yen. On Monday, Sapporo revised that downward to a range of 280 billion yen to 300 billion yen. “I believe we can substantially dispel the anxiety of the public with the amendment,” Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto told a press conference.
Tokyo spent 1.64 trillion yen to stage the 2020 Summer Games that were postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic and related issues. — Kyodo
