Olympic Solidarity increases funding to NOCs following Tokyo 2020 postponement.

Funds for the Olympic Saolidarity refugee athlete support programme have been extended to 2021.

Olympic Solidarity have increased funding to National Olympic Committees following the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The budget allocated to the International Olympic Committee subsidies programme has been increased by $10.3 million (£8.3million/€9.5million). Additional funds are for exceptional Games-related costs incurred by NOCs due to the postponement of Tokyo 2020.

The subsidy aims to guarantee the participation of all 206 NOCs by covering or contributing to travel and accommodation costs.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic forced the Olympics and Paralympics to be rescheduled to July 23 to August 8 and August 24 to September 5 2021 respectively.

A supplementary budget of $15 million (£12million/€14million) has already been added to the Olympic Solidarity athletes programmes after they were extended to 2021. This includes Olympic scholarships for Tokyo 2020 athletes, team support grants and refugee athlete support.

The programmes cover 1,600 athletes from 185 NOCs.Preparation for the new Olympic Solidarity 2021-2024 plan, which will take into account the NOCs’ needs in this new context, is currently ongoing.It is set to be announced at the end of the year.

NOCs are expected to be struggling financially due to the pandemic, which has caused the suspension of sport across the world.

Members of staff at the Australian Olympic Committee and United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee have taken pay cuts to offset the financial impact.

By Nancy Gillen-InsideTheGames