Five gold rings

As 2019 draws to a close experts in the sports business will be dusting off their crystal balls and make predictions about the year ahead. Will Liverpool FC win the English Premier League? Can Nadal level with Federer on 20 Grand Slams? What can we expect from the Tokyo Olympic Games? Here are five considerations:

1. On 18th November a partnership between the IOC and Airbnb was announced to support the Olympic Movement through 2028. The nine-year, five-Games partnership is designed to create a new standard for hosting that will benefit host cities, spectators, fans and athletes. Media reported a deal estimated at $500 million that was roughly in line with other partnerships such as Bridgestone and Panasonic investing $200 to $250 million over a four year period. Collectively the top 12 IOC sponsors provide revenues just north of $1 billion for a Summer and Winter Games cycle. The Olympic brand is in good health.

2. If these figures do not raise any eyebrows,

the domestic partner program with the Tokyo Organising Committee (TOCOG) certainly does. With the arrival of the latest partner, Boston Consulting Group, there are now 66 domestic partners: 15 Gold Partners, 32 Official Partners and 19 Official Supporters. Revenue from TOCOG Partner sales is currently $3.3 billion, twice the original projections. And in many cases there are multiple brands per industry category such as two airline partners, two banking partners, three travel agency partners and two professional services partners in EY and BCG. With so many domestic partners the whole country will want to get behind and support this national project.

3. For a nation that led the way in technological innovation in the postwar 20th century, the Tokyo Olympics is keen to re-address the balance by presenting Tokyo 2020 as the ‘most innovative in history’. With

this in mind, an Innovation Bureau with 20 staff has been set up charged with developing and promoting innovative projects around the games. Robot versions of the mascots Miraitowa and Someity will welcome athletes and guests as well as other robots to support on field activities and assist spectators attending the games.

4. Having said farewell to some household names at Rio 2016 including Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, there might be some concern of new stars taking over. Here is one to watch out for: Noah Lyles, a 22 year old aiming for three gold medals including 100 meter, 200 meter and 4×100 meter relay. At the Paris Diamond League meet Lyles ran 19.65 for 200 meter. The previous record of 19.73 belonged to Usain Bolt. In the pool Caeleb Dressel is the one to watch, winning 8 medals at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, breaking Phelps’ previous record of 7 medals in a single meet. And it is always good to have home grown heroes. Watch out for Takeru Kitazono. At the 2018 Youth Olympic Games he won 5 gold medals, the first athlete to achieve such a feat in a single Youth Olympic Games. Kitazono is expected to be the successor to the great Kohei Uchimura, who will compete for the final time in Tokyo. Plenty of stars to look forward to.

5. At Tokyo 2020 there will be five new sports making their debut including karate, baseball/softball, skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing. There are 7.8 million tickets available of which 30% will be allocated to overseas visitors. For those who cannot get hold of a ticket there will be 30 ‘live site’ venues across Japan featuring live broadcasts, cultural events and the opportunity to try Olympic and Paralympic sports. And, if this is not convincing enough, despite being the world’s largest urban population of 35 million, Tokyo is the world’s safest city. In 2016, $32 million in lost cash was handed in at Tokyo police stations! With 39 Olympic venues for 11,090 athletes from 206 expected National Olympic Committees competing in 33 sports for 339 gold medals, what more could you want to watch in 2020?

Whatever you choose in 2020 have a great time. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!