Making a Difference

The Coca-Cola Company supports the Olympic Games primarily because we share the values of Olympism that, in addition to embracing the vision of a better and more-peaceful world, encourage the discovery of one’s abilities and promote the spirit of competition, the pursuit of excellence and a sense of fair play.

The contributions and effects of involvement by Coca-Cola with the Olympic Games have been diverse and widespread over several decades. Beyond creating sheer economic impact through our marketing investments in the Games, we have steadily worked hand in hand with the Olympic Family to enhance the mission of the Olympic Movement and its reach to an ever-growing audience.

As part of our global partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), we provide financial support to the more than 200 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) around the world, assisting their athletes in training for the Olympic Games. Approximately 90 percent of the support provided by Coca-Cola for the Olympic Games goes to the organizing committees for the actual staging of the event and to the NOCs to help train athletes and allow them to live their dreams by competing in the Games. The Olympic Games as we know them today would not exist without sponsor support.

Olympic Solidarity Program

Coca-Cola is a supporter of the official Olympic Broadcast in many countries around the world – revenues from which partly fund the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity program.  Olympic Solidarity, created in 1983, has been developed jointly by the IOC and NOCs and consists of nearly a dozen elements created to assist the officially recognized NOCs in fulfilling their mission and in making known the ideals of the Olympic Movement. The program provides NOCs with financial support and training resources to improve sports infrastructure in various countries. It also awards scholarships to athletes preparing for the Olympic Games.

The IOC also utilizes sponsor funding to operate additional special assistance programs in conjunction with National Olympic Committees, the United Nations and other international organizations.  Programs range from delivery of basic human services and sports infrastructure in war-torn countries, to academic programs for studying the Olympic Movement, to the staging of world-class athletic events.

Creating Consumer Experiences

The Coca-Cola Company has been dedicated to creating unique and memorable Olympic Games experiences through our partnerships with the IOC, the NOCs and the local organizing committees in the host countries for the Games of each Olympiad.

We have proactively broadened the consumer experience of the Olympic Games through innovative programs for people throughout the world, regardless of whether or not they are able to actually attend the event. While our products refresh athletes and coaches, staff and volunteers, and media and spectators at the Olympic Games, our myriad promotional and community programs in countries around the globe simultaneously help create lasting, irreplaceable memories of the Games for local citizens. As just one example, our support of the Olympic Torch Relay has allowed millions of people in numerous countries – individuals who would not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy a real, up-close Olympic experience – to be exposed to one of the most-powerful symbols in the world, the Olympic Flame, and witness or even take part in an Olympic Games tradition.

Learn more about the Olympic Torch Relay (PDF)

Olympic Museum

In 1987, Coca-Cola became the first sponsor of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, through a pledge of US$1 million to the International Olympic Committee. The museum, which opened on Olympic Day, June 23, 1993 – the 99th anniversary of the founding of the IOC – showcases the history of the Olympic Games and promotes knowledge of the Olympic Movement.

“Nutrition for Athletes” Guide

In partnership with our Powerade brand sports drink, the IOC Medical Commission in 2004 published a detailed “Nutrition for Athletes” guide, for distribution to thousands of athletes and their trainers arriving in Greece for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. The extensive booklet, prepared by the Nutrition Working Group of the IOC, is a comprehensive, practical guide to eating for health and performance. It contains reference material for the serious athlete concerned about the competitive benefits of proper nutrition and eating well.

Paralympic Games

Concurrent with our partnership with the Olympic Games, we have sponsored several presentations of the Paralympic Games, which were envisioned after World War II and launched in 1960. As the world’s elite sport events for athletes from six different disability groups, the Paralympic Games traditionally are staged within weeks of the conclusion of the Olympic Games and in the same host city venues as the Olympic Games.