International Paralympic Committee advises of 26.7% revenue fall from Tokyo Games

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has advised that its year-on-year revenue fell by 26.7% to US$22.4 million for the 2020 financial period as a direct result of the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games due to COVID-19.

Posting a tiny profit of US$17,782, the organisation - which relies on marketing, broadcasting, sponsorship and fundraising for much of its revenue - was forced to reduce budgets by at least 20% because of the Tokyo Games postponement.

Commenting on the results, IPC President, Andrew Parsons stated “in 2020, the pandemic meant the IPC faced our biggest crisis to date.

“Yet through new ways of working and thinking, we continued to thrive as an organisation and as a movement.

“Faced with the unique challenge of replanning Tokyo 2020, our relationship with the IOC grew stronger than ever with the pandemic bringing both organisation closer together.

“The teamwork between IPC and IOC, as well as with Tokyo 2020, was extraordinary as a new blueprint for how to stage the world’s first and third biggest sport events during a pandemic was created from scratch.

“Thanks to a herculean effort by the whole team and cost-savings across the organisation, the IPC finished the financial year with a balanced budget achieved without the need for any external financial support, a tremendous achievement by all concerned

As part of the report, the IPC said it is in the process of developing its strategic plan for 2023-2026, with a focus on establishing a more sustainable way to further Para sport.

The financial return from the hosting of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will not be shown in the organisation’s financial figures until the 2021 financial year report.

Image: Athlete Markus Rehm at the the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Credit: Tokyo2020/Kyodo News.