Associated Press (05/07/19)

Olympic sports leaders are criticizing Tokyo Games organizers for reducing spending on event presentation at venues next year. International Judo Federation official Larisa Kiss called presentation plans for judo tournaments "shockingly poor," and warned Tokyo's delegation against a recurrence of the 2016 Rio Olympics "where the look was quite cheap." Facing pressures to control spending by the International Olympic Committee, Tokyo has maintained a $5.5 billion operating budget, reducing outlays in some areas while offsetting higher expenses in others. Critics are urging officials to be more inventive, and withhold from imposing a "one size fits all" policy for how to stage the various Olympic sports. World Sailing official Andy Hunt stressed the need to redress a lack of sufficient medical facilities and provisions for hot food, water, and shade for athletes. "We will be happy to collaborate with [sports organizations] to customize each sport," said Tokyo sports director Koji Murofushi. Tokyo official Hide Nakamura admitted some of his colleagues did not see sports presentation as a budget priority, but promised that his team's lack of organizational experienced will be addressed "through trial and error at the test events."

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