Panasonic ends 37 years as Olympic Games sponsor

Panasonic became an official partner of the Olympics in 1987 and extended its partnership to the Paralympics from 2014.

Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said he understands and respects that the Japanese firm “has to adapt its business strategy.”

“This partnership ends in a respectful and amicable manner,” he added.

But Panasonic was not the only one to withdraw its sponsorship, Toyota Motor also ended its association with the Olympics, however in this case because its 10-year contract expired.

The IOC had revenues of $2.295 billion from its major sponsors between 20217 and 2021, Reuters reports. The second-largest source of income for the Olympic movement, with broadcasters paying out $4.544 billion over the same period.

According to the official Olympic website, almost all (96%) of the budget for the organisation of the Olympic Games, as well as the Paris 2024 Paralympics, comes from the private sector, i.e. the IOC, associated companies, ticket sales and licensing.

Global sponsors for the latest edition were Airbnb, Alibaba, Allianz, Atos, Bridgestone, Coca Cola, Corona, Deloitte, Intel, Omega, Panasonic, P&G, Samsung, Toyota and Visa.

With information from Reuters.