McDonald's Renews Olympic Sponsorship

(ATR) McDonald’s will be part of the Olympics through the 2020 OlympicGames with renewal of their worldwide sponsorship.

The U.S.-based company and the IOC signed the renewal of the sponsorship Friday in Innsbruck on the eve of the first Winter Youth Olympics.

While the financial details of the deal were not released, the sponsorship has an estimated value of $200 million and gives McDonald’s sponsorship rights for Sochi 2014, Rio 2016, PyeongChang 2018 and the 2020 Olympics.

Responding to a question from ATR, the IOC president said the new sponsorship won’t bring changes, calling it "the continuation of an important partnership".

McDonald’s president and chief operating officer Don Thompson says that the company will use the sponsorship to increase its activation at the local level.

At the same time Thompson looks ahead to the coming London Olympics when the company will operate its biggest restaurants ever at an Olympic Games. He says 2,000 McDonald’s staff from around the globe and the U.K. will be selected to staff the restaurants.

One will be located in the Olympic Village, another, operating 24 hours is set for the Main Press Center and two others will be open to the public at the Olympic Park. One will be the biggest McDonald’s in the world.

"As the Official Restaurant of the Olympic Games, we take tremendous pride in feeding the athletes and visitors from around the world, and are excited to play a role in helping make the Olympics possible," he said.

"In keeping with McDonald’s ongoing commitment to children’s well-being, we will continue to communicate with kids about the importance of balanced eating and active lifestyles through our partnershipwith the Games."

McDonald’s has a long standing relationshipwith Games, serving as a sponsor since 1976.

"We are delighted that McDonald’s is announcing its renewal, building on our work together for more than 35 years," said IOC president Jacques Rogge.

"McDonald’s provides a positive and inspirational connection to the Olympic spirit, sharing the Olympic values with its customers across the globe."

McDonald’s joins GE, Coca-Cola, Dow Chemical, Omega, Procter & Gamble and Visa as IOC worldwide partners through the Games in 2020. Marketing officials with the IOC say they want to make some changes to the TOP program after 2020.

Written by Ann Cantrell.

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