The multi-million dollar Tokyo Games trap

Tokyo, Jun 25 (EFE) .- The discontent of the Japanese and sponsors has not been enough to change the plans of those responsible for the Tokyo Olympics, whose cancellation would lead to multimillion-dollar losses to which no one wants to expose themselves.
The Games, for which less than a month remains, will be “the light at the end of the tunnel” of the pandemic, according to the hosts, while the International Olympic Committee (IOC) justifies its celebration with which athletes have been preparing for years for this appointment, despite the risks involved.
What they have not talked about clearly neither has been the contractual obligations and the possible costs derived from a possible cancellation, where the true key to the fate of the Games that are presented as the most expensive and strange could lie. till the date.
HOSTS “CORRELED”
The “Host City” contract places Japan, or more specifically the Government of Tokyo, at the mercy of the IOC when it comes to a possible cancellation of the event, since the international body is the only one with the power to resort to this measure in circumstances of force majeure such as war or “if the safety of the participants is threatened for any reason”.
In this context, any decision to suspend the Games should be agreed by the hosts or the IOC or else Japan would face a long and complex legal battle against the international body, which could claim compensation for the loss of television revenue.
The IOC, whose financing depends mainly on this route, would therefore be the main interested in continuing with the Games, whether or not there is an audience in the stands and despite the fact that they will be held between strict limitations for all participants and without foreign visitors.
“We have been cornered in a situation where we cannot stop right now. We are doomed if we do it, and we are doomed if we don’t,” said Kaori Yamaguchi, former world judo champion and executive member of the Japan Olympic Committee. , in a recent opinion piece.
An estimate from the Japanese Institute for Research Nomura placed the price that cancellation of the Games would have for Japan at 13.56 billion euros ($ 16 billion).
The authors of the report warned that the Asian country would suffer a much greater economic impact if it were forced to impose new anti-contagion measures as a result of a new rebound in the coronavirus caused by the Games.
GUARANTEED OVERCOST
The only certainty in this complex scenario is that Japan loses economically whether the Games are canceled or if they are held between unprecedented restrictions in an event of this caliber, as it is expected to happen.
The organizers expected to earn about 800 million dollars (670 million euros) from the sale of tickets for the Games, but the veto of foreign spectators and the restriction of local public access to the stadiums have diminished this source of income. .
This further complicates the accounts for Tokyo 2020, whose last draft budget soared to $ 15.4 billion (€ 12.95 billion) due to the costs of delaying the competition and anti-COVID-19 measures.
Part of the additional costs will be borne by local sponsors, although most will come from the public coffers of the central and regional government, and ultimately, from the pocket of Japanese taxpayers.
DISCOUNTED SPONSORS
The sponsors themselves, after an additional effort to contribute 210 million dollars (180 million euros) more for the postponed Games (which brings their total contribution to 3,000 million), would have transferred their dissatisfaction to the organization with the plans to celebrate the event with a small number of spectators and suggested a further delay of the event, according to some media.
Although the organizing committee denied that there was “such a request”, companies such as the Japanese motor giant Toyota – a “top” sponsor of the Games – have expressed their “concern” about holding the Games in the midst of the pandemic.
Other sponsors, such as the Asahi newspaper, one of the main in Japan, have openly called for the cancellation of a sports event that they consider too risky a “bet”.
And it is that companies risk seeing their logos decorating half-empty stands, in addition to being associated with an event that can go down in history due to its unprecedented restrictions for all participants or even by becoming a source of contagion.
Antonio Hermosin