According to a poll published on Thursday by Japanese public broadcaster NHK, approximately two-thirds of Olympic sponsors are unsure about their sponsorship status now that the Games have been postponed until 2021. Dates for the reschedule Games were set in March of this year amid the global coronavirus pandemic. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will now be held from July 23-August 8, 2021.
Some factors contributing to this include the rising costs of the games and the possibility that they may not be able to occur in 2021, which will lead to cancellation.
Currently, the Tokyo 2020 planning committee recognizes 80 sponsorships, with the highest of these being The Worldwide Olympic Partners including:
- Coca-Cola
- Airbnb
- Alibaba
- Atos
- Bridgestone
- Dow
- GE
- Intel
- Omega
- Panasonic
- P&G
- Samsung
- Toyota
- Visa
According to IOC sponsorship partner Rob Prazmark, all sponsors are required to pay at least $200 million per Olympic cycle for their spot. However, many of the top contracts exceed this amount. For example, Toyota paid a record $835 million for its sponsorship deal lasting from 2017 until 2024.
Prior to the postponement, the Tokyo Games were estimated to bring in a record-breaking $3 billion in sponsorship revenue, which is three times more than any previous edition of the Games. Comparatively, the 2016 Rio Olympic Games only brought in approximately $1 billion in sponsorship revenue.
Currently, the Tokyo 2020 planning committee estimates that the total budget to host the Games is around $12.6 billion. However, they have not set a cost associated with the postponement of the games, which the IOC estimates will exceed $800 million.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are currently set to begin on July 23, 2021 due to the delay caused by concerns surrounding the coronavirus. However, top IOC official Dick Pound recently said that it would be “impossible” to postpone the games beyond 2021.
