Olympic Committee Urged to End ‘Big Soda’ Sponsorship
Non-Communicable Diseases 26/07/2024 •
An extract from the online campaign to ‘Kick Big Soda out of sport’.

Leading global health organisations have called for Coca-Cola to be removed as a major sponsor of the Olympic Games and an end to sponsorship by “Big Soda” of all other sporting events.

Sixty organisations and over 35,000 people have signed an online petition as part of the “Kick Big Soda Out of Sport “campaign, ahead of the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris on Friday (26 July).

“Sugary drinks harm people and our planet. By accepting billions from Coca-Cola to sponsor the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) implicitly endorses a world where health and environmental harms are ‘sports-washed’ away, undermining commitments to use sport to create a better world,” according to the petition.

It adds that sugary drinks are a major contributor to rising rates of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease and that Coca-Cola targets children with its marketing.

The petition also says that Coca Cola is damaging the environment with “plastic pollution, carbon emissions and water depletion”.

“With continued Coca-Cola sponsorship, how does the IOC intend to meet its commitment to WHO to promote a healthy society through sport, to advance Sustainable Development Goal 3 (“Good health and well-being”) and prevent non communicable diseases (NCDs)?” it asks.

It urges the IOC to “prioritize the health and well-being of people and our planet over Big Soda’s corporate interests” by terminating Coca-Cola’s Olympic sponsorship, and committing to not accepting future sponsorship from corporations that harm public health and the environment.

“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 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.”

‘Contradicts IOC’s mission’

“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.”

“This campaign is bringing much-needed attention to the ways sugary drink companies use sport to add to their bottom line,” said Nzama Mbalati, Chief Executive Officer of HEALA, a civil society coalition in South Africa advocating for a more just food system.

“This petition underscores the need for the IOC to prioritise the health of people and the sustainability of our planet over commercial interests,” said Alejandro Calvillo, Director of El Poder del Consumidor, a consumer rights nonprofit in Mexico. 

“By distancing itself from Big Soda, the IOC has an unprecedented opportunity to uphold its reputation as a beacon of integrity, excellence and social responsibility.”

“Kick Big Soda Out of Sport” is the beginning of a movement to remove all sugary beverage sponsorship from sport. The campaign is led by concerned global health organizations and advocates and highlights the harmful effects of sugary drinks on our health and the planet.

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