Rare. And even, come on, extremely rare: a sponsor will leave the IOC. Not just any one. A global partner, member of the TOP program, the closed circle of brands having the privilege of using the Olympic rings on a global scale, often for several Olympics. The top of the pyramid.
According to several supposedly reliable sources, since they are close to the matter, Toyota will end its contract with the IOC after the Paris 2024 Games. The Japanese manufacturer, world number one in the automobile sector, will not extend an agreement signed in 2015. It then became the first market player to join the global TOP program. Five years before the Tokyo 2020 Games, which were supposed to expose the dynamism and modernity of the Japanese economy to the entire planet.
The amount of the contract has never been revealed. They never are in the cozy world of the Olympic movement. But according to the agency Kyodo News, at the origin of the information, it would have exceeded 100 billion yen since its signing in 2015, or nearly 640 million dollars at the current price.
According to the same sources, Toyota would like to continue its partnership with the IPC. But to do this it may have to renegotiate its presence alongside the Paralympic movement, the agreements not providing for turning its back on the IOC while remaining associated with the IPC.
The reason for this withdrawal? It would be double. Toyota management recently came to the conclusion that the money spent on sponsorship did not reach its target, namely support for athletes and promotion of sport. The Japanese manufacturer would therefore have chosen to reorient its strategy. It would remain present in sport, but in a different form, closer to the athletes and the practice.
Another explanation: the corruption scandal linked to the Tokyo 2020 Games. Its impact on Japanese opinion was considerable. It still is. As proof, Sapporo's decision to abandon its candidacy for the Winter Games in 2030, where the capital of Hokkaido prefecture had almost won the race.
The Paris 2024 Games will therefore be Toyota's fifth and last as an official partner of the IOC. The Japanese manufacturer will support the event at a large scale. It will provide it with more than 3.000 vehicles, including a fleet of electric cars intended to promote its efforts and advances in green technologies on a global scale.
Subject to more official confirmation, Toyota's departure brings two thoughts. The first: the TOP program can be left. An obvious fact, certainly, but which ended up being forgotten as a result of seeing newcomers join with happy faces (Airbnb, Allianz, AB InBev, etc.), but without any spectacular start. Toyota's decision, and especially its reasons, suggest that the Olympic rings do not, or no longer, have the same appeal for the giants of the world economy.
Second lesson: the withdrawal of the Japanese manufacturer frees up a place. Within the TOP program, Toyota held exclusivity in the “vehicles, robotics in support of mobility and mobility services”. It will be free soon. It remains to be seen whether the IOC will be able to find a new holder. American, for example, less than four years from the Los Angeles 2028 Games and a decade from those of Salt Lake City 2034.
