Status: 07/19/2021 10:10 a.m.
Shortly before the start of the Olympic Games, major sponsor Toyota cancels its planned commercials and participation in the opening ceremony. Apparently, the car company fears damage to its image.
Japan’s top sponsor of the Olympic Games, Toyota, is curtailing its public commitment to the tournament a few days before the start. Prepared commercials related to the games will not be broadcast, according to the company. Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda and other company representatives also do not want to take part in the opening ceremony on July 23.
With these games, a lot will meet with incomprehension, it was said to justify. It is bitter news for the organizers that one of the most important sponsors is distancing itself. Toyota is one of around 60 Japanese companies that paid a record total of more than $ 3 billion in sponsorship rights for the Games.
Games without spectators
The corona crisis and a series of mishaps and scandals in the run-up to the games have overshadowed the world’s largest sporting event. The games are being criticized internationally and nationally because it is feared that they will exacerbate the pandemic. A clear majority of Japanese citizens repeatedly speak out in surveys against the fact that the major event takes place in Tokyo.
The games will take place almost completely without spectators. Japan’s government had already banned foreign audiences in March. The organizers also conceded the plan to let at least 10,000 local fans into the sports facilities in July due to the increasing number of infections.
There were also positive corona cases in hotels and recently in the Olympic Village. This is one of the reasons why the fear of damage to their image is widespread among sponsors. Even Asahi Shimbun, the country’s second largest newspaper and official Olympic partner, recently called for the cancellation. Many companies have already stopped activities and events related to the games in the past few weeks.