Even the possibility of canceling Tokyo 2020 this summer is an industry-shaking concept, but most of the U.S. Olympic movement spent last week worrying about the short term.
The spring calendar is replete with Olympic qualifying events, grassroots competitions run by national governing bodies, trials preparations and the launch of the Olympic promotional machine. But little can be assured with widespread travel restrictions and health fears, said one Olympics brand consultant.
“The Games just happen to be the culmination for many organizations of a yearlong marketing effort, and the real activation window is that 100-days-out mark and the next three months,” he said.
Top officials at the country’s largest Olympic sports organizations spent much of March 12 in extensive meetings. Some came to different conclusions — USA Swimming canceled all but one event nationally this past weekend, but waited to make a call on future events, while USA Track & Field has told local organizers to take cues from local health and safety authorities but did cancel the indoor junior championships March 20-22 on Staten Island in New York.
Bill King and Ben Fischer talk about how COVID-19 outbreaks are disrupting Olympic qualification events and what that may mean for the Tokyo Games.
Those bodies’ Olympic trials this summer are still on, but there was extensive discussion about alternatives if they cannot be held. Sports that determine their teams by a series of qualifying events are in a worse position — the last chance for several sitting volleyball teams to qualify for the Paralympics was a tournament set for March 16 in Oklahoma. It was canceled after President Donald Trump announced a European travel ban, and sport officials are still figuring out what’s next. USA Wrestling said on March 12 that it would cancel nonessential events, but planning will continue for Olympic qualifying April 4-5 in State College, Penn.
Olympic sponsors and their agencies were mostly hunkered down with extensive contingency planning. A big question all week was the fate of the USOPC’s 100-days-out celebrations in New York City, set tentatively for April 15.
“The plans are being treated as they are happening until the very last minute, and if they’re canceled, then we’ll deploy the [altered] plans,” one senior sponsor executive said. “There’s really nothing else we can do.”
A big concern emerging for Olympic marketers was that their Games-related social media promotions or advertising, in some cases to be launched next month, might be at odds with the darkening national mood. One NGB executive said some promotional materials for their trials would be toned down.
