Tokyo 2020 slashes budget to $17 billion

Tokyo Olympics organisers unveiled a smaller budget of up to USD 17 billion after coming under pressure to cut ballooning costs.

The figure, down from last month’s pledge to cap expenditure at USD 17.78 billion, follows warnings that the bill for the 2020 Games could soar as high as USD 30 billion.

Wednesday’s figure, the most complete budget yet for Tokyo 2020, comes after officials scrambled to slash the costs of building some Olympic venues.

It was revealed at talks between the Games’ organisers, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo and national governments, who are meeting regularly to try to cut costs.