Olympic sponsors call for delay in Tokyo Games to allow more spectators

Some of the biggest Japanese sponsors of the Tokyo Olympics want organizers to postpone the Games for several months to allow more spectators to attend.

The proposal was made privately in recent weeks, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The request follows growing frustration among some of the 47 Japanese companies that collectively paid more than $ 3 billion to support the Games, thus becoming more sponsored sporting event in history.

“I do not think that this proposal has a strong influence on the organizers because they seem completely determined to do so begins July 24thSaid a senior executive from a corporate sponsor.

“But it makes a lot, a lot more sense from our perspective to hold the Games when there are more people vaccinated, the weather is cooler and maybe the public opposition is less.”

The prevalence of Covid-19 and the slow deployment of vaccines have frustrated the public, with opinion polls showing up to 80% of Japanese wanting to cancel or postpone the Olympics.

The total number of people who have received at least one vaccination shot in Japan it has exceeded 14 million, or 11% of the population.

The Japan Olympic Committee informed sponsors in April that the key decision on whether to allow spectators to watch live events will not be made until the last possible moment, possibly on June 24th.

Many of the companies had based substantial marketing campaigns around gifts and promotions on the sites. Banks, brokers, insurance companies and other major industrial sponsors had planned to use the events for corporate entertainment.

Two people who attended the meeting said some companies decided that the money spent on Olympic sponsorship was indeed “useless,” but that a postponement would allow them to regain some value if it allowed spectators and more movement through the venues.

Suggestions for a last-minute delay until the end of September or October were made as preparations for the Games entered their final 50 days.

A senior executive from a sponsor said the deferral suggestion had a practical benefit. He said the company would not commit more money to the project, but would consider paying an additional sponsorship fee if the Olympics took place later in the year.

“If the Games started a few months later, a much larger part of the country would be vaccinated, there would be less uncertainty, and we would certainly consider putting more money into sponsors,” he said.

He added that there was an internal debate in his company about the risks of linking his brand to an event that Shigeru Omi, the doctor who led Covid’s Japanese response, said this week “is not normal” to celebrate in the current environment.

Another head of a Japanese company that supported Tokyo’s bid for the Games said: “Japan should make every effort to ensure that the Olympics can be held in time and the government will speed up the launch of vaccines. But a plan B should also be prepared for a delay of two to three months. ”

The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The business community has been abruptly divided over whether the country should host the Olympics. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, and Hiroshi Mikitani, chief executive of e-commerce group Rakuten, are among the most vocal opponents.

But even among sponsors, companies have been placed in an awkward position with strong public opposition making it difficult for them to promote the event.

Akio Toyoda, chief executive of global sponsor of the Toyota Olympics, on Thursday expressed frustration over the slow progress in controlling the Covid-19 in Japan.

“It is a serious emergency. . . this requires crisis management, “Toyoda said.” The reality is that we are still in a period of anxiety and dissatisfaction. “