Volume 39, Number 15

Business

Has Tokyo Got What it Takes?
Will the 2016 bid bring gold to Tokyo?
by Danielle Tate-Stratton

Generally, athletes are seen as the undisputed stars of the Olympic Games. There are, however, hundreds of people who work incredibly hard for many years to ensure that one other star shines brightly over the course of the games—that of the host city. Olympic committees hope that the Olympics will bring attention, long-term growth and industry, and, perhaps most importantly, money to their city and, as an extension, country.

Bid cities must show the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and their local governments that the citizens near the games support the bid and one of the techniques they use to gain popular support is the promise of future riches for the city. Unfortunately, budgets don’t always go as planned, and not all cities come out ahead.

Looking ahead, Tokyo is hoping to host the 2016 Summer Olympics from August 12–28 of that year. Having already hosted a successful Games in 1964, Tokyo’s Bid Committee is hoping to beat out competition that includes Rio de Janeiro and Madrid when the IOC announces their decision in 2009. With a bid budget of between 5.5 and 7 billion yen, it is not an inexpensive undertaking to convince the world that Tokyo is ready to host once again. Funding for the bid will be split between the Tokyo Metropolitain Government (¥1.5 billion) and funding from within the private sector.

The Bid Committee is campaigning on the basis of Tokyo 2016 being the most compact and efficient Olympics to date. With plans to reutilize many of Tokyo’s’64 venues such as the stadium in Komazawa Olympic Park and the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Yoyogi Koen very little new construction or land acquisition would be needed. For instance, for a Games occurring in 2016, Tokyo would be building only two new venues, echoing the successful model of LA. Additionally, Tokyo boasts a strong transportation network which bid organizers contend would easily be able to accommodate the additional traffic seen by the Games. The Tokyo Olympics would be the most compact ever, with all but two sports (soccer [qualifying games] and sailing) as well as the Olympic Village and Media Center being located within a ten-kilometer radius, or within approximately 20 minutes traveling time. The new venues, including a Tadao Ando designed stadium, are expected to be built on reclaimed waterfront land on Tokyo Bay, helping to continue the revitalization project started in areas such as Odaiba.

Thanks to existing infrastructure and already in-the-works improvements to the city’s transportation networks including three ring-roads designed to help alleviate congestion, Tokyo looks as though it could follow Los Angeles’ highly successful model by taking advantage of a large city used to millions of people as well as existing venues to minimize costs and transportation loads. If it is able to do that, Tokyo could well follow in the footsteps of past Games such as Los Angeles (summer, 1984), Calgary (winter, 1988), or Atlanta (summer, 2006), all of which broke even or posted a profit once the Olympic Flame was extinguished. To find out more about Tokyo’s bid for the Games, visit www.tokyo2016.or.jp/en.