2020 Summer Olympics Cost Tokyo $10.5B

The cost of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has fluctuated since the city was named the Games’ host, but on Tuesday, the organizing committee released its final number: $10.5 billion, or 1.42 trillion Japanese yen.

Tokyo was awarded the Games in 2013, and at that point, the bid committee initially projected total costs would land around $7.3 billion. In late 2019 — even before the games were postponed due to the pandemic — that estimate was pushed to $12.6 billion.

After the Games were postponed and then closed off to fans, organizers lost $800 million from ticket sales alone. One of the biggest bills was the construction of National Stadium, which cost $1.4 billion.

At the conclusion of the Games last year, organizers expected the total cost to be $15.4 billion, but lowered the number to $13.6 billion four months later.

The public paid about 55% in total expenses — around $7.1 billion in Japanese taxpayer money. 

• The organizing committee contributed $5.9 billion.
• The IOC covered $1.3 billion.
• Local sponsors spent $3.4 billion.

Exchange Rate

When looking at the final figure, it’s important to note the shift in the exchange rate between the yen and the U.S. dollar. Today, $1 buys about 135 yen. Last year, it bought roughly 110 yen.

Under the exchange rate about one year ago, the $10.5 billion number would have totaled around $13 billion. Leading up to the games, the organizers reportedly often used 107 as the exchange rate, which would total $13.3 billion as a final price tag.