Since then, every Summer and Winter Olympics has had a strict smoke-free policy, and since 2010, a total smoke-free policy. Smoking is prohibited at all Paris 2024 venues, except in designated areas — a rule that also applies to vaping.
The next category is companies producing alcoholic beverages. disputel Olympic sponsors, from Molson Brewery at the 1976 Montreal Olympics to Heineken at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Though IOC collaborates with AB InBevworld-leading brewer Corona Cero — a non-alcoholic beverage — is the global beer sponsor of the Paris Olympics, with the Olympic Committee saying it underlines “both organisations’ commitment to responsible consumption and a better world.”
Activities like the Kick Large Soda Out of Sport campaign don’t just happen. During the London 2012 Olympic Games, Coca-Cola’s sponsorship, which included various promotional activities focused on youth engagement, came up against significant reaction. And in 2021, the company’s sponsorship has changed; Coca-Cola now has a common “Olympic Partner”, TOP, Mengniu agreementa Chinese dairy company, making it the exclusive sponsor of cushioned drinks during the Games. (The TOP program is the Olympic Games program the highest level of sponsorship.)
“Coca-Cola is establishing a positive relationship with a dairy food company and the ‘health halo’ that comes with that,” says Joe Piggin, senior lecturer in sports policy at Loughborough University. So while the joint sponsorship may seem to detract from Coca-Cola’s funding, strategically speaking the move actually leverages the company’s sponsorship and its future longevity.
From 2021 to 2032 (when their contract is up), co-sponsors will pay an estimated total 3 billion dollars to the IOC. The 14-person Coca-Cola athlete roster was revealed in the run-up to the 2024 Olympics. The face of the campaign is this paintingin which athletes hold bottles of Coca-Cola drinks. Some athletes hold Coca-Cola itself with full sugar, which has 53 grams of sugar per 500 milliliters—almost twice the recommended amount daily sugar intake for an adult.
Many athletes hold in their hands Powerade Original, another Coca-Cola drink that contains 5.8 grams sugar per 600-milliliter bottle, which is almost 20 percent of the recommended daily intake. (Powerade is also official drink (Member of the U.S. Olympic team.)
Experts say this marketing strategy is a reflection of past Olympians who sold cigarettes. last project The Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society examined this issue, noting that Harold “Dutch” Smith, a champion high-flyer, was quoted in a 1935 Saturday Evening Post ad as saying, “Camels can’t catch their breath.”
“If a tobacco company tried to air an ad on network television during the Olympics, there would be such an outcry. [should be] Coca-Cola is no different,” says Lustig. (“The Coca-Cola Company offers a wide selection of beverages, including milkshakes and juices, as well as water, tea, coffee, and sodas, as well as many sugar-free options,” an IOC spokesperson tells WIRED.)
“We are calling on sports organisations to stop promoting unhealthy food and drink and to work with health experts to create a healthier food environment,” Zoe Davies, a dietitian at Action on Sugar, said in a statement to WIRED.
Coca-Cola did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment. “The company used its front groups to make the argument that lack of physical activity and not sweet drinks “are fueling the obesity crisis,” says Corporate Responsibility researcher Ashka Naik. However, Coca-Cola was criticized for manipulating science to justify shifting blame.
The experts WIRED spoke with agreed that Coca-Cola should become the next Olympic sponsor. However, they do not expect it to happen anytime soon.
Many experts have suggested that change shouldn’t be left to organizations alone. To stop sports organizations from “taking money from ultra-processed food companies,” there needs to be “public policy measures,” Lustig says. “When there are more votes than dollars, then things will change.”