Japanese organisers say 2020 Games delay to cost them $2.8 billion

FILE PHOTO: Bystanders watch as giant Olympic rings are reinstalled at the waterfront area at Odaiba Marine Park, after they were temporarily taken down in August for maintenance amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan December 1, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - The postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games until next year because of the novel coronavirus pandemic will cost Japanese organisers an additional 294 billion yen ($2.8 billion), the organising committee said on Friday.

Organisers have been assessing the financial impact of the delay since the Japanese government and International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided in March to postpone the Games until 2021.