Public health experts want the Olympics to drop its oldest sponsor
Smoking is not permitted at any Paris 2024 venues except in designated areas–a rule that extends to vaping. Smoking is not permitted at any Paris 2024 venues except in designated areas–a rule that extends to vaping.
Alcoholic beverage companies are another category of controversial Olympic sponsors, from Molson Brewery at the 1976 Montreal Olympics to Heineken at the 2004 Athens games.
Though the IOC is partnered with AB InBev, the world’s leading brewer, Corona Cero–a zero-alcohol drink–is the global beer sponsor of the Paris Olympics. The Olympic Committee says this highlights both organizations’ “commitment to responsible consumption and a better world.”
Efforts like the Kick Big Soda Out of Sport campaign aren’t coming out of nowhere. Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of the London Olympics in 2012, which included various promotional activities focusing on youth engagement, was met with significant backlash. In 2021, Coca-Cola’s sponsorship will change. The company has an agreement with Mengniu (a Chinese dairy-products company) to become the exclusive non-alcoholic beverages sponsors of the Games. The TOP program is the highest level of sponsorship for the Olympics. “Coca-Cola is positively associated with a dairy-food company and the halo of health that goes with it,” said Joe Piggin. Senior lecturer in Sport Policy at Loughborough University. Therefore, though a joint sponsorship may seem to lessen the significance of Coca-Cola’s funding, strategically this move actually leverages the company’s sponsorship and future longevity.
From 2021 to 2032 (when their contract is up), the joint sponsors will pay an estimated total of $3 billion to the IOC. Coca-Cola revealed its 14-person roster of athletes in the run-up to the 2024 Olympics. This image shows the athletes holding bottles of Coca-Cola drinks. Some athletes are holding Coca-Cola full-sugar, which contains 53 grams per 500ml–almost twice the daily recommended sugar intake for adults. Powerade, another Coca-Cola drink, contains 5.8 grams of sugar per 600ml bottle. This is almost 20% of the recommended daily intake. Experts say that this strategy is similar to Olympians in the past who hawked cigarettes. The Centre for the Study of Tobacco and Society conducted a recent study on this and found that Harold “Dutch”, a high-diving champ, said in a 1935 Saturday Evening Post advertisement, “Camels do not get your wind.” It is no different with Coca-Cola
,” says Lustig. (The Coca-Cola Company offers a variety of beverages that include water, tea and coffee as well as sparkling beverages and dairy drinks. Many sugar-free choices are available, says an IOC spokesperson to WIRED. )
“We urge sports organizations to stop promoting unhealthy food and drink and work with health experts to create a healthier food environment,” Zoe Davies, a nutritionist from Action on Sugar said in a statement issued to WIRED.
Coca-Cola did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment. Ashka Naik, a researcher from Corporate Responsibility, says that Coca-Cola has used front groups to promote the argument that it is not sugary drinks but the lack of exercise which causes the obesity epidemic. However, Coca-Cola has been criticized for its manipulation of science to justify this shifting of blame.
Experts that WIRED spoke with consistently held that Coca-Cola should be the next Olympic sponsor to go; however, they don’t expect this to happen any time soon.
Many experts suggested a shift shouldn’t be left to the organizations themselves. According to Lustig, “public policy measures” are needed to prevent sports organizations from accepting money from food companies that produce ultra-processed foods. When there are more votes and dollars than before, things will start to change.
