Call to Remove Big Soda Sponsorship of Olympic Games
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Rachel Burns, Vital Strategies
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International Olympic Committee Urged to Terminate Big Soda Sponsorship
Leading global health organizations call for the removal of The Coca-Cola Company as a major sponsor of the Olympic Games
July 17, 2024 (PARIS, FRANCE) – In a landmark appeal, leading global health experts and advocates are calling for the end of Big Soda’s sponsorship of sporting events throughout the world. This move comes amid rising concerns about the negative impacts of sugary beverages on public health and the environment. A new campaign, “Kick Big Soda Out of Sport,” highlights these harms and urges the global community to support this call to action.
Citing escalating rates of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases associated with consumption of sugary beverages, these groups assert that the International Olympic Committee’s association with unhealthy products undermines its commitment to promoting a healthy society through sport.
“Serving as a major sponsor of the Olympics allows companies to blanket venues and events with their logos, reaching an audience of over 3 billion watching at home,” said Trish Cotter, Global Lead of the Food Policy Program at global health organization Vital Strategies. “Alongside growing opposition to soda’s involvement in sport, athletes themselves are beginning to speak up about which companies should be permitted to sponsor sporting events. For example, at Euro 2020 Cristiano Ronaldo made a strong statement when he pointedly removed two bottles of Coca-Cola that were placed in front of him at a news conference.”
“The link between sugary beverages and chronic and largely preventable diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease is well established,” said Dr. Barry Popkin, W. R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health. “Allowing Coca-Cola to continue as a key sponsor of the Olympic Games directly contradicts the IOC’s mission and undermines the efforts and achievements of Olympic athletes. The most insidious actions of the beverage industry, however, are their marketing strategies, which disproportionately target children and adolescents. These tactics perpetuate unhealthy consumption patterns, setting young people up for lifetimes of poor dietary habits and health risks.”…
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