IPC ‘rules’ out going to IOC to solve cash-flow problem

Tokyo Olympic flame taken off display; next stop unclear

TOKYO, April 9, (AP): The International Paralympic Committee has a “cash flow” problem, but its president has ruled out going to the International Olympic Committee for help.

President Andrew Parsons says he is trying to cut 5% from the budget, which was listed at 24.1 million euros ($26.1 million) in the IPC’s 2018 annual report.

The cash shortfall stems from the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic postponement until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“At the moment we are not discussing that with them (IOC),” Parsons said in a teleconference with selected media. “We are trying to solve our issues internally.”

The IPC already receives several million dollars from the IOC under a 2018 agreement. Parsons declined to provide the specific figure.

“Unfortunately, this agreement contains some confidentiality clauses and this amount if one of them,” Parsons said.

Many international sports federations are heavily dependent on the IOC for support, and for some it’s nearly their sole income. The IOC generates $5.7 billion in a four-year Olympic cycle, and 91% is from selling broadcast rights and sponsorships.

Last month, IOC president Thomas Bach said in an interview that the IOC has “no cash-flow problem.”

The IPC appears to be financially stable. However, it faced a major crisis in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro when the local Olympic organizing committee ran out of money and needed a million-dollar government bailout to fund the Paralympics.

“Until 2017 we were not receiving any funding directly from the IOC and we were surviving, thriving,” Parsons said. “We were delivering a very good Paralympic Games. Let’s say we are not dependent on this amount coming directly from the IOC.”

Parsons said the IPC cash-flow problem was due partly to broadcast rights holders who want to delay their payments until 2021 when the product is delivered. Parsons said it’s not a question of “losing money” but rather a need for some temporary belt tightening.

“Like all businesses we are tremendously affected by the COVID-19 crisis,” Parsons said. He said he was sifting through 150 contracts that are gamesrelated.

“We have no plans to let any staff go

The Olympic rings are reflected on the facade of Japan Olympic Museum, March 30, 2020, in Tokyo. The Tokyo Olympics will open next year in the same time slot scheduled for this year’s Games. Tokyo organizers said

Monday the opening ceremony will take place on July 23, 2021. (AP)

at the moment,” he said.

Parsons said his major worry - as it was if the Paralympics were held this year - is finding hotel rooms in Tokyo suitable for people with disabilities.

About 4,400 Paralympic athletes are to stay in the Olympic Village, which has been designed for wheelchair access. But some staff, media, and fans - many with disabilities - will need modified hotel rooms. These are in short supply in Tokyo, where hotel rooms are typically small and bath and toilet areas are seldom suitable for wheelchair users.

“It took us a lot of time and effort to

get this ball moving and we don’t want to see it going back because of the postponement,” Parsons said. “Of course we are concerned that we will be short of rooms.”

Parsons said the sharp business downturn caused by the virus is likely to affect hotel owners, who may be discouraged from making short-term investments to reconfigure rooms.

“So we don’t know if this will still be a priority for these hotels,” he said.

Meanwhile the Tokyo Olympic flame has been taken off public display in Japan. And it’s not clear when it will reappear again or where - or under what conditions.

The flame arrived in Japan from Greece on March 26. After the Tokyo Olympics and the torch relay were postponed until next year, the flame was put on display in the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima. It was to remain on display through the end of April.

It was removed after several days when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday issued a state of emergency in order to combat the coronavirus, which includes limiting large crowds.

“Tokyo 2020 will now keep the flame in an undisclosed location to prevent people from gathering,” Tokyo organizers said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Tokyo organizers are expected to keep the flame for the short-term. In the long-term, the flame is expected to be used by the International Olympic Committee as a promotion device and as a symbol of the fight against the pandemic.

“The idea will be to keep this flame burning and showing it to the world,” Michael Payne, the former marketing director of the IOC, told the AP in a recent interview.

The flame is expected to reappear next year in Japan for the torch relay. But Payne, who no longer works for the IOC, hinted it could have a wider purpose.

“The Olympic flame burning will provide a very powerful inspiration, a bright light as the world goes through these difficult times,” he said.

Prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Chinese organizers and the IOC organized an international torch relay that went to about 20 countries.

The worldwide tour was met by violent protests against China’s human rights record in Tibet and elsewhere. The flame was targeted at several stops including London, Paris and San Francisco. This forced organizers to reroute the relay to separate protesters and supporters.

The chaos at the time was described as a “crisis” for the IOC by then-President Jacques Rogge. The IOC subsequently canceled any future plans for a worldwide display of the flame.

Any plan next year to take the flame on a world tour, or even a tour of Japan, will depend on the evolution of the virus. The same is true for holding the Olympics amid large crowds in just under 16 months.