Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee in Japan decides to hold it without overseas spectators…officially announced on the 25th

Expected to decrease ticket income by more than 10 billion yen
Government financial burden in case of deficit Olympics

[아시아경제 이현우 기자] It is known that the Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee has set a policy to hold the Tokyo Olympics without foreign spectators. Accordingly, there are concerns that the Japanese government’s fiscal burden will increase as the Olympics in a deficit, such as a decrease of more than 10 billion yen (approximately 10 billion won) in ticket revenue, will increase.

On the 10th, the Nippon Geizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee decided not to accept foreign audiences, and that it will officially announce that it will not accept foreign audiences on the 25th. According to Nikkei, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee has decided not to accept foreign audiences under the principle of prioritizing the safety of the event and public safety.

Accordingly, it is expected that the Tokyo Olympics’ overseas sales ticket revenue will disappear immediately. According to the budget plan announced by the organizing committee in December last year, the ticket sales revenue for the Tokyo Olympics is about 90 billion yen, which amounts to 12% of the total revenue generated by hosting the Olympics. Considering that the proportion of overseas ticket sales during the Olympics was usually around 10-20%, the sales of tickets could decrease from 10 billion yen to 15 billion yen, Nikkei reported.

As the likelihood of the Tokyo Olympics being held in the red is growing, the government’s fiscal burden is also concerned. According to the Tokyo Organizing Committee, if the Olympics end in a deficit, Tokyo will pay the deficit first according to a contract with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host cities. If the province cannot cover it, the central government will preserve it. Depending on how much domestic audiences are limited in April, the Tokyo Olympics may have a bigger deficit.

Nikkei said, however, that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is asking each country’s Olympic Committee and sponsors to allow spectating, so the adjustment is expected to continue. It is known that the Japanese government was initially planning to accommodate 1 million overseas spectators at the Tokyo Olympics and use it as a foothold to recover foreigners visiting Japan, who had fallen due to Corona 19.

Reporter Lee Hyun-woo [email protected]