Tokyo 2020 organisers need to convince sponsors Olympics will really happen

Domestic sponsors have paid a record of US$3.3 billion – at least twice any previous Olympics

IOC President Thomas Bach to join a number of Japanese government and top officials to assure that the Tokyo Olympics will open on July 23, 2021

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Tokyo and IOC officials have moved to assure sponsors that the Games will go ahead as planned next year. Photo: AP

Published: 3:16pm, 22 Sep 2020Updated: 3:16pm, 22 Sep 2020

The only thing more difficult than staging next year’s Tokyo Olympics in a pandemic might be convincing sponsors to keep their billions of dollars on board in the midst of economic turbulence and scepticism.

To make the point this week, IOC President Thomas Bach will join a number of Japanese government and city officials, local organisers, and other top International Olympic Committee leaders in repeating a message they’ve failed to convey forcefully enough to deep-pocketed sponsors: Trust us, the Tokyo Olympics will open on July 23, 2021.

Bach and IOC Vice President John Coates – who oversees Tokyo preparations – are expected to speak remotely to Japanese officials as they meet on Thursday and Friday. The agenda includes plotting countermeasures against Covid-19: quarantines, rules for athletes entering the country, testing, vaccines, and the presence or absence of fans.

Few firm details are expected until late in the year or early in 2021, which accounts for the uncertainty.

The subtext is assuring sponsors that the Olympics will happen. Tokyo organising committee CEO Toshiro Muto has acknowledged the word’s not getting out.