Winter Olympic Hopeful Sapporo Slashes Budget Amid Backlash

Winter Olympics bid city Sapporo has slashed its projected costs for hosting the 2030 Games by about a quarter, or $795 million, the city's mayor said on Monday

Tokyo, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Nov, 2021 ) :Winter Olympics bid city Sapporo has slashed its projected costs for hosting the 2030 Games by about a quarter, or $795 million, the city's mayor said on Monday.

The northern Japanese city, considered one of the frontrunners to host the Games, made the move amid fears of a public backlash after the ballooning cost of this summer's Tokyo Olympics.

Sapporo bid officials have reduced the number of competition venues and now set an estimated cost of between 280 billion Yen and 300 billion yen for the 2030 Games.

The final budget for the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Games swelled to at least 1.64 trillion yen, with some estimates suggesting the actual price tag was significantly higher.

"The scale of the Summer and Winter Olympics is completely different," Sapporo mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto told reporters.

"The cost is less than a third (of the Summer Games) and it's important to get that message across." Sapporo hosted the Winter Olympics in 1972 and also staged the marathon and race walk events for this year's Tokyo Games, in an effort to beat the capital's steamy summer heat.

Other cities to have expressed an interest in the 2030 Games include Salt Lake City, which held the Games in 2002, and 2010 host city Vancouver.

Under Sapporo's plan, Nagano -- which hosted the 1998 Winter Games -- and the cities of Obihiro and Niseko would also stage some events in 2030.