TOKYO: The President of the Organising Committee for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Mr Yoshiro Mori, has again apologised to the IOC for the decision to scrap plans for the national stadium and start again.
However the IOC, meeting at its 128th Session in Kuala Lumpur, has pledged to support Tokyo, and Mr Mori, as they prepare to start from scratch and build a new stadium.
“We are standing by your side and supporting you,” IOC President Thomas Bach said.
The Chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for Tokyo, John Coates, highlighted the escalating costs in construction as a major challenge for the Organising Committee.
“The cost of construction in Tokyo is 2.3 times more expensive than the USA because buildings must be earthquake proofed,” he said.
Mr Coates said the costs related to all construction work across Japan not just Olympic venues.
He praised the “remarkable progress made over the past year” and confirmed the IOC’s support for the construction of a new national stadium to be finished by April 2020 in time for the Games.
The IOC would be involved in the tender process and requires “a state of the art stadium, quality and feasibility and timely delivery.”
“International broadcasting services need access before that day (April 2020) and the people involved in organising the ceremonies need access before that time,” Coates said.
On a lighter note, the IOC member for Greece suggested renovating the old national stadium to further reduce costs.
Mr Coates advised him that the old stadium had already been demolished!
Interviews begin next week with the eight international sports federations hoping to win a place on the program for Tokyo. Two sports will be added with softball and baseball favoured because of their popularity in Japan.
“I must emphasise that these proposals for additional events are not at the expense of existing sports or existing athletes.”
Mr Coates also reported that the sponsor program for Tokyo 2020 has been extremely successful with 13 tier one contracts had been signed with major corporations.
Mike Tancred in Kuala Lumpur
AOC
