Angle: Sponsor of the Olympics of Silence, canceled observation in difficult position | Reuters

[Tokio, 29, Reuters]The companies sponsoring the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games await the opening ceremony, which is approaching six months later, despite fears of cancellation and postponement. The promotional activities that launched the Olympic Games across the surface could not be resumed, and the torch relay, which took less than two months to start, has not yet been informed by the organizer of a new format with infection countermeasures. , so prepare as originally planned. I have no choice but to do so.

While it has a sense of mission to support national projects, public opinion against this summer’s event has risen, putting sponsoring companies in a difficult position.

“It was an atmosphere where I couldn’t say ‘cancel or postpone’ even if it broke my mouth.” An official from the sponsoring company explains the status of the meeting with the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics that was held recently.

There are 68 national sponsors of the Tokyo Olympics, and the contract amount has reached a record high of approximately 330 billion yen for the event held in July last year. As it was postponed for a year, a total of 22 billion yen was required in additional contributions, including the provision of its own products, and the entire company renewed the contract in December last year. The total amount exceeded 350 billion yen.

However, as the spread of the new coronavirus continues around the world, uncertainty grows again at the event held in July this year. Since the originally planned postponement was decided in July last year, domestic momentum towards the Olympics has been diminishing. The state of emergency was reissued earlier this year and, according to national media polls, 80% demand that the tournament be postponed or canceled.

Organizers such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Japanese government and the Tokyo metropolitan government have emphasized the July event as scheduled, but concerns are widespread among those involved in the companies sponsoring the Olympic Games. Gold partner Canon CFO Minoru Tanaka explained at a press conference on the 28th that he plans to use it for sales promotion activities like the conventional Olympics if they take place. On the other hand, he said, “the company is now thinking about how to deal with it, even if it can’t be done successfully.”

The Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee responded to Reuters by email that it hopes the situation will improve by taking action against infections by the Japanese government, Tokyo and local governments. “I hope to return to normal life soon. I will continue to cooperate closely with related organizations to run a safe and secure tournament this summer.” On the testimony of people concerned that the sponsor company’s promotional activities are changing, he replied that “it has the full support of all the people involved.”

Reuters recently interviewed 24 people involved in the Olympics, including sponsors. At least 11 have expressed concern that public opinion could be even more negative if the state of emergency is extended.

“We can’t even say the words stop or delay,” the person said. “We couldn’t even ask what would happen to our contributions if they were canceled or postponed,” recalls the atmosphere of the meeting with the Commission.

Originally, the sponsoring company that sponsored the event may use the tournament logo and characters for large-scale publicity and publicity activities. Late last year, the sponsoring companies were considering resuming promotional activities to boost the push for the postponement, according to people familiar with the matter.

However, after the second state of emergency was declared earlier in the year, it was “toned down,” said one of the people involved. Of the sponsoring companies interviewed by Reuters, six said they abstained or postponed advertising activities during the Olympics. This is because consumers can signal that it is “unscrupulous” if a positive television commercial that imagines the event is played amid the diffusion of a cautious public opinion about the event in Corona.

After the postponement of the tournament last summer, the company postponed some of its planned publicity and publicity plans to wait for more details to be made, according to Asahi Group Holdings officials. The video conveying that he is a golden partner is still used in television commercials. A company spokeswoman confirmed to Reuters that it has postponed some announcements since it was decided to postpone the tournament.

The advantage of becoming a sponsoring company is that you can secure competition tickets and invite and entertain customers, but if you cancel or run the event without spectators, that advantage will be lost. “I have not decided at all whether to include spectators or not. If it is not decided, the sale of tickets and the allocation to sponsors will not be decided, so I think the companies are angry,” said one of the tournament officials. . To tell.

The company is also concerned about the whereabouts of the torch relay as of March 25. The Tokyo Olympic torch relay, attracting the world “reconstruction” of the great East Japan earthquake that occurred 10 years ago, departs from Fukushima prefecture and travels across the country for 121 days. The torch relay sponsoring company is independent from the competition sponsor and cooperates with the operation by distributing its own sample products along the road and providing the necessary equipment for the operation.

However, since the expansion of the crown cannot be stopped, infection control is essential. He said he has not been told in detail about the new incarnation, whether it will run the course as originally planned or what spectators will do on the road. “We are making preparations based on the plan that was supposed to take place last year,” said an official from the sponsoring company.

Since there is a chance for a runner to run alone along a quiet road, some people are concerned that even if the video is displayed as is, it will not be a picture. “There’s talk of having to think about how to get the torch relay reported,” the person said.

The Organizing Committee, which is proceeding with the preparations, responded to Reuters’ question that “countermeasures against the torch relay infection are being considered.” It will take place on March 25 as scheduled.

Eight years have passed since the 2020 Summer Games were decided in Tokyo. The sponsoring companies have also supported the preparation of the nationally recognized project for the Olympic Games in Japan, which has been carried out since the Winter Games in Nagano Prefecture. Even after the one-year postponement was decided due to the spread of the corona infection, many employees continue to run the Olympics without being transferred.

“I didn’t think he had been there another year,” said one of the people, who compared himself to an American soldier who fought in the Vietnam War. “I work hard every day thinking it’s for Japan, but I feel like people are saying you’re wrong.”

* Correct the description of Asahi Group Holdings in paragraph 12. The statement that the company has removed the video telling it that it is a gold partner of the CM Tokyo Olympics was incorrect. Added company PR comment.