Sapporo revises up cost estimate for 2030 Winter Games

Jiji Press

13:32 JST, November 9, 2022

SAPPORO (Jiji Press) — The city of Sapporo said Tuesday that it has raised its cost estimate for the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, which it aims to host, by ¥17 billion from its previous projection a year ago.

In its latest draft plan for the Winter Games, Sapporo put the costs to host the Games at ¥297 billion to ¥317 billion, attributing the upward revision partly to price rises.

Of the total, the costs to run the Games are projected at ¥220 billion to ¥240 billion, up from the previous estimate of ¥200 billion to ¥220 billion.

The capital of the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido plans to cover the costs to run the events mainly with sponsorships, without tapping taxpayer money.

The estimate of the costs for competition venues and other facilities was lowered from ¥80 billion to ¥77 billion, of which Sapporo expects to shoulder ¥49 billion, up from ¥45 billion.

In the draft plan, Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto underscored the city’s commitment to ensuring transparency and fairness for the Games after the revelation of bribery scandals linked to last year’s Tokyo Summer Games.

A joint declaration against corruption released by the Japanese Olympic Committee and the city government in September this year was also included in the plan.