Concerns and stress about the COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure or postponement of major sporting events around the world. These included the 2020 Ice Hockey World Championships in Zurich and Lausanne and the Equestrian World Cup in Dubai and eventually the Olympic Games joined this group. The postponement of Tokyo 2020 came amid growing pressure to cancel or delay the event due to the dangers of COVID-19, which by March 23 had killed more than 15,000 people worldwide. The USAF (USATF) called for a postponement of the Games in an open letter on March 21, and the National Olympic Committee of Norway and Brazil approved the idea on March 20 and 21. Eventually, US President Donald Trump also called for the Olympics to be postponed. As pressure mounted, Canada warned on Monday that it would not send athletes to Tokyo unless the Games were postponed. In the end through continuous pressure, the commission supported the suspension plans with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) criticized through social media for their insistence on persevering with Tokyo 2020. Canceling or postponing the Olympics was not an easy decision. The financial blow to the cancelation of the Games was significant for Japan, which had invested at least $ 12.6 billion into hosting the event. According to some estimates, Japan’s annual GDP growth was down 1.4% once the official announcement of suspension was made. However, it could hardly shock the Japanese population as a poll released in Japan found that about 70% of people did not expect the Tokyo Olympics to be held in the summer of 2020 (Roache, 2020). The special circumstances that impacted the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, made digital and mobile marketing tactics a priority. The decrease in viewers and the absence of spectators indicated that brands needed to innovate in their activities to minimize the impact on both their commercial and social activities (Hiken, 2021). In the week before the games began, GeoPoll conducted a survey to gather information on scheduled viewing habits in the games. The study was conducted using the GeoPoll mobile web platform and surveyed more than 3,600 respondents across Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, Egypt, Brazil, Colombia, and China. The results demonstrated that in most countries, the largest percentage of respondents planned to watch games on television. China appeared as an exception. In China, more respondents planned to watch games on their mobile phones (87%) than on TV (80%). Most in China intended to follow the games using three or more different devices. Across countries, respondents aged 16 to 25 used their phones more than older people and men more than women (61% to 53%). To some extent, 56% intended to do so through social media. More respondents planned to watch games on “pay-TV” (51%) to “free-to-air TV” (50%), and more (56%) claimed to know which stations/TV channels show, showed the games. 87% of respondents in China claimed to be informed. In addition to social media and television, many planned to follow the games using “websites” (40%) and “streaming platforms” (38%). The use of the platform varied considerably from country to country and age group (Geopoll Report, 2021).
