Panasonic to terminate contract with International Olympic Committee; Japanese sponsors may move away from the Olympics

Tokyo, September 10, 2024. Olympic sponsor Panasonic said in a statement that it will terminate its contract with the International Olympic Committee at the end of this year. Panasonic is one of the 15 top sponsors of the International Olympic Committee. Although the sponsorship value is currently unknown, such sponsors provide more than 2 billion US dollars in funds to the International Olympic Committee in a four-year cycle.

Panasonic became a sponsor of the International Olympic Committee in 1987 and expanded to the Paralympic Games in 2014. This time, it did not clearly state the reason for terminating the contract, only saying that it is related to the continuous review of sponsorship development. The situations of two other Japanese companies, Toyota and Bridgestone, are unknown. Toyota was previously rumored to be preparing to terminate the contract but no new information was given. It only said that it has supported the Olympic and Paralympic movements since 2015 and will continue to do so; Bridgestone said it has not made a decision.

Japanese sponsors seem to be moving away from the Olympics, which may be related to the one-year postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The postponement due to the epidemic has reduced sponsor exposure, increased costs and exposed many corruption scandals. Toyota's contract is worth 835 million US dollars. There are reports that it may retain sponsorship of the Paralympic Games.

The top sponsors of the International Olympic Committee include companies such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and Airbnb. A few months ago, there were reports that Toyota was dissatisfied with the way the International Olympic Committee used sponsorship funds. Japan was once a major source of income, but the International Olympic Committee is increasingly looking for sponsors from China, the Middle East and India. The Tokyo Olympics cost a huge amount and is deeply mired in corruption scandals. French prosecutors are also investigating bribery in the International Olympic Committee's selection of Tokyo as the host city for the 2020 Summer Olympics. In the previous cycle, the International Olympic Committee had an income of 7.6 billion US dollars. Top sponsors paid more than 2 billion US dollars. It is expected that this number will reach 3 billion US dollars in the next cycle.