Tokyo 2020 secures sixth bid partner

04 October 2012 | Posted in Sponsorship, Olympics, Asia | By Michael Long

Japan's bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games has received a further boost after All Nippon Airways Co. (ANA) signed up to become Tokyo 2020’s sixth official bid partner.

The airline, one of the largest carriers in the Asia-Pacific region, will work with the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee and its other bid partners – Asics, Descente, JTB, Mizuno and Kinki Nippon Tourist – to bring the Games to Japan’s shores in eight years’ time.

Tsunekazu Takeda, an IOC member and president of the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee and the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC), said: "I welcome ANA, one of Japan's leading firms in the transportation industry, as the sixth official Tokyo 2020 bid partner. Today's announcement is further demonstration of the passionate support that Tokyo 2020 is receiving from all levels of Japanese society.”

ANA is already the official airline partner of the JOC, supporting Japan's elite athletes at international sporting events. The company also sponsors Ai Fukuhara, who was a member of Japan’s silver medal-winning London 2012 table tennis team.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will decide on the host of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games at the 125th IOC Session on 7th September 2013 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.