Tokyo panel calls for changes to venues for 2020 Games
TOKYO — A Tokyo panel on Thursday urged changes to three venues for the 2020 Olympics in the face of ballooning costs, but organisers say such adjustments may prove difficult to instigate in time for the Games.Tokyo touted access to a $4.5bn war chest when it beat Madrid and Istanbul in its successful 2013 bid for the Summer Games but recently elected governor Yuriko Koike campaigned on reining in ballooning costs and ordered a review of expenses.The proposed changes, which could include moving rowing and canoeing about 400km from Tokyo, would require the approval of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and each sport’s international federation.READ THIS: Spreading the new concept for global mega-eventsThey are the latest in a series of embarrassing setbacks and broken promises for organisers, who won the bid largely on Japan’s reputation for efficiency.Tokyo’s bid proposal, for example, said about 85% of venues would be within 8km of the Olympic Village in central Tokyo.Accor...
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