The Tokyo 2020 Olympics have generated record domestic sponsorship revenues of more than $3 billion, the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday — three times more than any previous summer Games. There is huge enthusiasm among the Japanese for the Tokyo Games, and the public have rushed in their millions to buy tickets. The IOC's Coordination Commission chief for Tokyo, John Coates, said local sponsorship agreements were up to 62 companies for all three tiers of sponsorship arrangements. "This equates to revenues exceeding 3.0 billion dollars from national partnerships. That is an amazing amount of money," Coates told the IOC session. "This does not include the partnerships with (Japanese companies) Toyota, Bridgestone and Panasonic and their contribution to the TOP program." The three companies have separate deals with the IOC as major sponsors of the organization, worth hundreds of millions of dollars in total. In comparison, the London 2012 Games raised roughly $1.1 billion from domestic sponsors — a record at the time — while Rio de Janeiro in 2016 claimed it had slightly surpassed London, although that is unlikely with final accounts inaccurate given ongoing corruption probes linked to those Olympics. The IOC has been struggling to attract new cities to bid for the Games and awarded the 2026 winter Olympics on Monday to Milan and Cortina D'Ampezzo after four other cities dropped out and Stockholm was left as the only other bidder. But in Japan, the Games have generated great enthusiasm with 7.5 million citizens registering to apply for tickets through a lottery system, many of whom ended up without any. Tokyo's bid file had said some 7.8 million tickets would be available for Games but 20-30 percent of those are reserved for international customers and sponsors. "7.5 million ticket (requests). This is an indication of this strong support and high level of interest among the Japanese public," Coates said. Breakdancing takes next step towards 2024 Games Breakdancing and three other sports took another step towards appearing at the Paris 2024 Olympics after the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday voted in favor of their inclusion. The Paris 2024 organizing committee in February proposed surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing as well as breakdancing for inclusion in the Games and the IOC's executive board gave the initial green light in March. On Tuesday the IOC session voted unanimously for their inclusion in the 2024 program, but the sports face one final review in late 2020 before a final decision is taken, IOC President Thomas Bach said. Surfing, climbing and skateboarding will be part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and their performance as new sports there will be monitored by the IOC before a final decision is taken on their inclusion in Paris. It is planned that the four sports will have a total 248 athletes, split evenly between men and women. Paris Games organizers said they want to deliver a program that is in keeping with the times and will attract a new and younger audience. Under new IOC rules first introduced for the Tokyo Games, Olympic host cities can hand-pick sports and propose them for inclusion in those Games if they are popular in that country and add to the Games' appeal. The IOC is eager to refresh the Games' sports program to remain relevant to sponsors, broadcasters and fans. — Reuters
