Thread by @businessinsider

Tokyo's 2020 Olympics are already the most expensive summer games ever. And that's before the games have even taken place.

But problems run deeper than the delay. We break it down. 👇

When Tokyo won the bid for the Olympics in 2013, the cost estimate was $7.3 billion. Today, expert estimates run to $26 billion.

The problem starts with the venues — 43 of them to be exact. The cost of Olympic stadiums and arenas typically go over budget.

And once the games are over, these venues often become abandoned.
businessinsider.com/abandoned-olym…

Meanwhile, the Japanese public is largely against holding the Olympics in the midst of a pandemic.

The International Olympic Committee announced that athletes are not required to be vaccinated and detailed new safety protocols.
insider.com/covid-19-risks…

For all the burden of hosting the games, Tokyo will see almost no share in the valuable broadcast rights. And the host city could be out even more.

While construction, COVID precautions, and operational costs continue to soar, there's also the cost to the individual athlete, financially, and emotionally.
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Athletes have had to continue training, sometimes at home on their own dime because facilities have been closed.

They do this with no guarantee that the games will go on.
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Insurance losses of a complete cancellation are estimated at $2 billion to $3 billion, not even half of Tokyo's original bid to host the games.

Amid cancellation rumors, Florida came in.
insider.com/olympics-flori…

Tokyo's problems don't end there.

Japan is set to have one of its hottest summers on record this year, just in time for the Summer Olympics.
insider.com/heat-concerns-…

In February, Yoshiro Mori resigned as the president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee after he made sexist comments.
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Whether the party in Tokyo happens remains to be seen. But the Olympic-sized bill is coming due.
businessinsider.com/cost-olympics-…