Tokyo Olympics braced for 'massive' added costs after delaying Games to 2021

According to local reports, organisers estimate the process of postponing Games will cost an extra $2.7 billion

A local student lights the Olympic Flame in March, during the "Flame of Recovery" display ceremony in Iwaki, Fukushima. AP

Visitors queue to see the Olympic Flame during a ceremony in Iwaki, Fukushima. AP

Visitors pose with a national flag reading "Supporting the world" during the Olympic "Flame of Recovery" display ceremony in Iwaki, Fukushima. AP

Spectators wait to see the Olympic flame display ceremony in Iwaki, Fukushima. AP

The Olympic flame is displayed at the Aquamarine Fukushima aquarium in Iwaki in Fukushima the day after the historic decision to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. AFP

A notice reads in Japanese "Under adjustment" is pasted on a countdown display for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Tokyo on March 25. AFP

Staff members remove the cover of the cauldron before the Olympic flame goes on display at the Aquamarine Fukushima aquarium in Iwaki in Fukushima. AFP

Visitors pray for a minute of silence for the victims of 2011 Tsunami and earthquake during the Olympic "Flame of Recovery" display ceremony. AP

Women wearing protective face masks walk past the Olympic rings in front of the Japan Olympics Museum, a day after the announcement of the games' postponement to 2021. Reuters

Spectators wait to see the Olympic flame display ceremony. AP

Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto has warned the rescheduling of the summer Olympic Games will involve "massive additional expenses" after the historic decision to delay the event due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While the announcement to postpone the Games until next summer was greeted with universal support, it now leaves organisers with a logistical headache as they work to shift the enormous event to an as-yet-undecided date next year. A taskforce has convened on Thursday to to begin working on the "unprecedented" and complex task.

"One by one, we need to ensure the problems we face can be solved," Tokyo 2020 chief Muto said in opening remarks at the first meeting of the taskforce.

"Additional expenses are going to be quite massive we assume. With regards to our revenues, we need to make a lot of effort there."

Muto gave no estimates for how much the process of postponing the Olympic and Paralympic Games could cost.

But according to the Nikkei daily, organisers estimate it will cost an extra $2.7 billion (Dh9,9bn), including for venue rentals, rebooking hotels and additional payments for staff and security guards, among others.

Those costs could still come down depending on the outcome of negotiations, the business daily reported.

Muto said organisers would not rip up their existing plans, but added: "I guess we need to step back a bit. Sometimes you need to go back to the drawing board."

The Olympics have never faced this much disruption in peacetime, and the decision to delay the event has created unprecedented challenges, Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori said.

Tokyo 2020 staff "will experience difficulties they have never experienced before. I am sure they will rise to the occasion. This is going to be a very difficult task that we are facing," he said.

No deadlines have yet been set for the rescheduling of the Games, which are now due to take place by summer 2021, but Mori said he would ensure "all the decisions are made as quickly as possible".

Muto underscored the scale of the task ahead, saying even he "didn't imagine at all we would be tested to this degree".

"We want to make sure we go beyond this test and that next year in Tokyo, the torch is lit for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We believe this is the mission we face."