Toyota, Panasonic, and Bridgestone Drop the International Olympic Committee as Sponsors

The International Olympic Committee is waving goodbye to its three heavyweight Japanese sponsors — Toyota, Panasonic, and Bridgestone — as they've decided to pull the plug on their contracts.

Three major Japanese companies have decided not to renew their sponsorship contracts with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), dealing a blow to the organization's efforts to secure top-tier partners.

Toyota, Panasonic, and Bridgestone will all be stepping back from their roles as IOC sponsors, leaving the organization searching for fresh avenues to generate sponsorship income.

The trio's decision is reportedly linked to the fallout over the postponed 2020 Tokyo Games, which was marred by a lack of fan attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions, spiraling costs, and several corruption scandals.

The companies were part of an elite group of 15 Tier One Olympic Partners (TOP) sponsors, who collectively dished out over $2 billion to the IOC in the last four-year cycle.

Toyota confirmed earlier this month that it wouldn't be renewing its partnership with the IOC beyond the Paris Games. Chairman Akio Toyoda recently expressed his discontent to US dealerships, casting doubt on the direction taken by the IOC.

"Honestly, I’m not sure they (IOC) are truly focused on putting people first. For me, the Olympics should simply be about watching athletes from all walks of life with all types of challenges achieve their impossible," Toyoda remarked.

Despite this setback, Toyoda assured continued support for individual Olympic and Paralympic athletes, and the Paralympic Games themselves.

Toyota had the IOC's largest contract when it was announced in 2015, in a deal reportedly worth $835 million (£667 million). This covered four Olympics, starting with the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games in South Korea and running through to the recently concluded Paris Olympics and Paralympics.

The IOC's top sponsors include ABInBev, Airbnb, Alibaba, Allianz, Atos, Bridgestone, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, Intel, Omega, Panasonic, P&G, Samsung, Toyota, and Visa.

However, tyre manufacturer Bridgestone Corp., an Olympic sponsor since 2014, announced this week that it would not be renewing its deal with the IOC after it ends this year.

"The decision comes after an evaluation of the company’s evolving corporate brand strategy and its recommitment to more endemic global motorsports platforms," the Tokyo-based company said in a statement.

Meanwhile, electronics giant Panasonic Corp., an IOC sponsor from 1987, revealed last month that it was ending its sponsorship without providing a specific reason, following "reviews on how sponsorship should evolve."

The Tokyo Games were embroiled in corruption scandals related to local sponsorships and contract awards. Dentsu Inc, the massive Japanese marketing and PR firm, served as the marketing arm of the Tokyo Olympics and raised a record-breaking $3.3 billion (£2.6 billion) in local sponsorship money. This is separate from TOP sponsors.

French prosecutors also investigated alleged vote-buying in the IOC’s decision in 2013 to select Tokyo as the host for the 2020 Summer Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) raked in $7.6 billion (£5.99 billion) in the four-year cycle that concluded with the Tokyo Games. The exact figures for the cycle ending with the Paris Olympics are yet to be disclosed.

The IOC's TOP sponsors shelled out over $2 billion (£1.58 billion) during this period, and this figure is expected to rise to $3 billion (£2.37 billion) in the upcoming cycle.

Japan's official expenditure on the Tokyo Olympics was $13 billion (£10.26 billion), with at least half of it being public funds. However, a government audit hinted that the actual cost could be double. The IOC's contribution stood at about $1.8 billion (£1.42 billion).

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