Tokyo 2020 confirmed today the key international experts who
worked with the strong Japanese team in the Applicant City phase to successfully achieve
Candidate City status with the current Olympic and Paralympic bid campaign. The
consultants brought additional campaign experience from the launch of the bid through its
presentation in the run-up to this week’s shortlist announcement.
Content agency Seven46 developed key messages and presentations, while global public
relations agency Weber Shandwick led on strategic communications and PR during the
Applicant City phase. In International Relations (IR), consultants Françoise Zweifel, Diamil
Faye and Young-Sook Lee are working closely with the Tokyo 2020 leadership and internal
IR team.
Tokyo 2020 President Tsunekazu Takeda said: “We are delighted to have added first-class
international support to be part of the Tokyo team. Based on the experience of our previous
bid, we are highly focused on delivering a clear, compelling story about how the world’s
most forward-thinking city will stage Games of excellence, excitement and innovation, all for
the benefit of sport. Our job now, with our international colleagues, is to deliver a strong
campaign and bring the Games to Tokyo.”
Seven46 was founded by Nick Varley after he worked on the successful London 2012
campaign. The company subsequently worked on Rio de Janeiro’s winning 2016 bid and
the International Rugby Board’s successful campaign for Rugby Sevens to join the Olympic
Programme. Its most recent success came as part of the campaign team for London’s bid to
host the 2017 IAAF World Championships in Athletics.
Weber Shandwick is a leading global public relations agency with a dedicated Olympic
Global team that has supported Olympic bids for nearly 20 years. Most recently Weber
Shandwick was the international PR agency for the successful Turin 2006, Beijing 2008 and
Sochi 2014 bids. Through supporting Tokyo in its 2016 campaign, the agency has a deep
understanding of Tokyo’s strengths and opportunities to help win the 2020 campaign.Françoise Zweifel is a former Secretary General of the International Olympic Committee and
Director of the Olympic Museum.
Sport Management agency JAPPO founder and President, Diamil Faye has contributed to
the successful organisation of the last three Olympic and Paralympic Games - Sydney,
Athens and Beijing - as well as the first ever Youth Olympic Games – Singapore 2010 -
providing expert services on Olympic villages and liaising between the Organising
Committees and National Olympic Committees. His broad international perspective and
deep knowledge of the Olympic Games and international sport bids will ensure that Tokyo
2020 remains focused on proven strategies and successful outcomes.
Young-Sook Lee served as an Advisor to the Korea Olympic Committee and the
PyeongChang Winter Games Olympic Bid Committee in their successful campaign to bring
the 2018 Winter Olympic Games to Korea. She now concurrently serves as an Executive
Advisor to the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC).
Tokyo 2020 became a Candidate City on 23 May with Istanbul and Madrid. Selection of the
2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games Host City will take place on 7 September 2013 in
Buenos Aires, Argentina.