Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games
HISTORY
Coca-Cola and the Olympic Movement: A Long-Standing Partnership
For more than three quarters of a century, The Coca-Cola
Company has been dedicated to bringing fans and athletes unique and memorable
Olympic Games experiences through its partnership with the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) and organizers of the Games of each Olympiad.
As the Olympic Movement's longest continuous corporate Partner, Coca-Cola
has helped and shared in the evolution of the Olympic Games into the world's
most watched and revered international event. Together, Coca-Cola
and nearly 200 National Olympic Committees have assisted thousands of
athletes training for and competing in the Olympic Games. And the number
of magical memories of the Games that Coca-Cola has helped
create for consumers worldwide is virtually immeasurable.
Here are just a few of the milestones in the enduring relationship between
Coca-Cola and the Olympic Games.
The Beginnings
The
Coca-Cola Company and the modern Olympic Games have enjoyed a mutual
growth and common historical bonds. In 1886, Atlanta pharmacist John S.
Pemberton invented the secret formula for Coca-Cola. Six years later,
Baron Pierre de Coubertin, of France, conceived the idea for a new Olympic
Games. In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece,
with 311 athletes from 13 nations. At the same time,
Coca-Cola was becoming available outside the United States.
Amsterdam 1928
The 1928 Olympic Games, which included 46 nations, marked the beginning
of The Coca-Cola Company's involvement with the Games - a presence that
would continue to grow to this day, through sponsorships, donations and
innovative support programs. That summer, a freighter delivered the U.S.
Olympic Team and 1,000 cases of Coca-Cola to the Amsterdam event. This
was also the first time Olympic Games competitions were held for women,
in track and field events. Meanwhile, the tradition of lighting an Olympic
Flame at the Games was revived from ancient times.
Los Angeles 1932
The Coca-Cola Company continued its support of the Olympic Games in Los
Angeles in 1932 with the introduction of an Olympic Games scoreboard record
indicator, compliments of The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Los Angeles.
While more than 200 teenagers, dressed in white jackets and gloves, served
Coca-Cola to crowds of 105,000 in the Los Angeles Coliseum, the indicator
broadened the stadium experience by displaying the 18 world records broken.
Coca-Cola also distributed 3 million miniature cutouts listing Olympic
Games records to young people around the United States.
In 1934, Johnny Weismuller, swimming gold medalist in 1924 and 1928,
became the first Olympic athlete to endorse a Coca-Cola product when he
was featured with actress Maureen O'Sullivan on Coca-Cola serving trays
and posters.
Berlin 1936
The Berlin 1936 Olympic Games marked the debut of the modern Olympic
Torch Relay, with the Olympic Flame being delivered from Olympia, Greece,
to Germany. A young Harvard University graduate, J. Paul Austin, competed
in the Games for the U.S. Rowing Team. Austin went on to become president,
CEO and chairman of The Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola sponsored the 1936
Games, which were followed by a 12-year hiatus surrounding World War II.
London 1948
The Olympic Games resumed in 1948 in London. Overcoming lingering effects
of the war that made local bottling and transportation difficult,
Coca-Cola shipped equipment from Glasgow, Scotland, and Belfast, Northern
Ireland, to meet the thirsty demands of athletes and spectators in England.
Oslo 1952
In conjunction with the 1952 Olympic Winter Games, Coca-Cola bottlers
provided Oslo residents with their first look at a helicopter. The aircraft
initially was used in a fund-raising effort for Norwegian athletes and
then to direct traffic during the latter part of the Games.
Helsinki 1952
Despite the fact that Finland did not have a local bottler, Coca-Cola
still was served to athletes and spectators at the Helsinki Olympic Games.
More than 30,000 cases of Coca-Cola were brought to the event from the
Netherlands aboard the M.S. Marvic, a rebuilt World War II landing craft,
in what became known as "Operation Muscle." Ice coolers and
trucks from the corners of northern Europe also were brought in, turning
the ship into a floating stockroom. Coca-Cola donated much of the product
for sale by the Disabled Ex-Servicemen Association.
Melbourne 1956
Coca-Cola bottlers in Melbourne provided more than 100,000 sun visors
to fans entering the Olympic Stadium, while 420 venders sold ice-cold
Coca-Cola throughout the Olympic Games venues.
Squaw Valley 1960
While the underdog U.S. ice hockey team surprised the world with a gold
medal performance, spectators at the 1960 Olympic Winter Games were served
Coca-Cola in 12-ounce cans for the first time.
Rome 1960
During the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Italian bottlers of Coca-Cola
showed their support by presenting thousands of athletes, officials, media
and spectators with an original, 45-rpm recording of the favorite song
of the day, "Arriverderci Roma."
Innsbruck 1964
The Coca-Cola Company published a history of the Olympic Winter Games
for athletes, officials and visitors at the Innsbruck 1964 Olympic Winter
Games.
Tokyo 1964
The Company continued its tradition of enhancing the Olympic Games experience
for the fans and media at the 1964 Tokyo Games with the production of
guide maps, street signs, sight-seeing information and a Japanese-English
phrase book. The translation guide was so popular that it was used as
a template for the 1968 Games in Mexico City, the 1972 Olympic Winter
Games in Sapporo, Japan, and the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.
Grenoble 1968
The Coca-Cola Company joined other U.S. corporations as a sponsor of
national television broadcasts from France of the 1968 Olympic Winter
Games on ABC-TV.
Mexico City 1968
In a show of pride for the space program, The Coca-Cola Company outfitted
its servers at 1968 Olympic Games venues in red-and-white astronaut suits
equipped with backpack dispensers. Olympic-themed television commercials
for Coca-Cola products brought the Games experience into the homes of
millions of viewers that year, when 1960 swimming gold medalist Lynn Burke
appeared in a Coca-Cola TV spot.
Munich 1972
Coca-Cola managed the entire food-and-beverage service for 15,000 athletes
and officials at the Munich Games. In the United States, the Company created
a "Great Olympic Moments" series of 17 commemorative medallions,
with sales proceeds donated to the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) to support
American athletes.
Innsbruck 1976
"Olympic Harmony," an Olympic Winter Games feature film, was
produced by The Coca-Cola Company in conjunction with the Innsbruck 1976
Olympic Winter Games.
Montreal 1976
As a gift to the people of Canada, Coca-Cola Ltd. purchased the horse
"Regardez" and donated it to the Canadian Equestrian Team, for
use by its captain.
Lake Placid 1980
The Coca-Cola Company conducted a national fund-raising tour for the
USOC featuring "Kobot," the world's first figure-skating robot.
The Company also initiated a version of the Coca-Cola Olympic Radio Network,
which broadcast Olympic Games results to millions of fans.
Moscow 1980
Coca-Cola® was the Official Soft Drink of the 1980 Olympic Games.
Sarajevo 1984
More than 1.1 million Coca-Cola cans were produced in the Netherlands
and Germany, filled in Austria, and shipped to Yugoslavia for the 1984
Olympic Winter Games.
Los Angeles 1984
During the year, Coca-Cola implemented a series of youth programs, including
a national Olympic Youth Soccer Competition, an Olympic educational program
for schools, and Olympic Youth Jamborees, which provided underprivileged
children a chance to experience the Olympic Spirit.
Coca-Cola was the first corporate sponsor of the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic
Games. The event's mascot, Sam the Eagle, was depicted on a series of
23 commemorative Coca-Cola cans. The mascot also was shown with a bottle
of Coca-Cola on a limited-edition, prototype Olympic lapel pin - today
a very rare artifact. Trading cards featuring "America's Greatest
Olympians" were included in 12-packs of Coca-Cola products.
Calgary 1988
The Coca-Cola Company broke new ground in 1988 when it orchestrated the
creation of the "Coca-Cola World Chorus," which performed at
the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary.
Comprised of 43 young people selected from 23 countries through competitions
sponsored by local Coca-Cola bottlers, the chorus performed the specially
commissioned signature song of the Games, "Can't You Feel It?"
for the local throngs and millions of television viewers. Calgary 1988
also saw the debut of the first Coca-Cola Official Olympic Pin Trading
Center, which drew more than 17,000 visitors each day and quickly became
another Olympic Games tradition - "the No. 1 spectator sport of the
Games."
Seoul 1988
For the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games, The Coca-Cola Company sponsored two
Olympic Pin Trading Centers and a nationwide contest among South Korea's
11.7 million students to design the first-ever commemorative pin for an
Opening Ceremony.
Albertville 1992
The new Coca-Cola Radio was introduced at the 1992 Olympic Winter Games
in Albertville. State-of-the-art broadcast facilities, located within
the Coca-Cola Olympic Pin Trading Center in nearby Courchevel, allowed
disc jockeys from nearly 30 major U.S. cities to deliver live reports
about the athletic events, special activities and the spectacle of the
Olympic Games to a daily listening audience of approximately 5 million.
Pin trading, meanwhile, reached new heights. The Pin Trading Center and
traveling PinMobiles served more than 350,000 collectors, who traded some
1.2 million pins.
Barcelona 1992
In Spain, Coca-Cola brought together 155 citizens from more than 50 nations
to participate in the Olympic Torch Relay for the 1992 Barcelona Games.
The International Olympic Torchbearers Program, sponsored by Coca-Cola,
marked the first time people from other countries participated in the
host country's Torch Relay. The torchbearers were selected through local
and national promotions staged by the worldwide Coca-Cola system.
Lillehammer 1994
In 1994, the Coca-Cola Polar Bear featured in Company advertising became
one of the world's most-popular winter sports "competitors."
And the International Olympic Torchbearers Program, sponsored by Coca-Cola,
repeated its Spain success, bringing 30 torchbearers from 13 countries
to Norway to help carry the Olympic Flame through Oslo as it made its
journey to Lillehammer.
Atlanta 1996
For the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, Coca-Cola was the exclusive presenter
of the Olympic Torch Relay - the longest Relay in Olympic Games history,
at 15,000 miles - and played a lead role in the selection of 2,500 of
the 10,000 torchbearers. The Company also expanded its International Olympic
Torchbearers Program by selecting as many as 500 participants from approximately
70 countries.
When the Games unfolded in Atlanta, Coca-Cola put out the welcome mat
in its hometown to enhance the fan experience. Specially created interactive
venues, including Coca-Cola Olympic City, The Coca-Cola Folk Art Exhibit,
and Olympic Pin Trading Centers, became central gathering places visited
by hundreds of thousands of people.
The 12-acre Coca-Cola Olympic City attraction in Atlanta provided fans
an opportunity to test their Olympic Games abilities in virtual reality
challenges, a place to receive tips from coaching legends, and a chance
to meet and greet Olympians. The Coca-Cola Folk Art Exhibit celebrated
artistic traditions interpreted on a common canvas - the trademark Coca-Cola
contour bottle. The Pin Trading Centers experienced unprecedented traffic
levels, with more than 3 million pins changing hands. Pin popularity was
further bolstered by Coca-Cola support of the 1996 Olympic Games Pin Society.
Nagano 1998
The 1998 Olympic Torch Relay, presented by Coca-Cola and the Company's
GEORGIA® coffee brand in Japan, brought the Olympic Flame to local citizens
along three simultaneous routes. Through nationwide and international
promotions, Coca-Cola selected 550 torchbearers and 2,700 support runners
to participate in the Relay.
Along with the ubiquitous Coca-Cola Olympic Pin Trading Center, the Company
also created Fan Plaza and Fan Stations to provide refreshment and interactive
entertainment for fans at the Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games. Also,
for the first time at any Games, Coca-Cola warmed up fans with the sale
of hot beverages alongside cold drinks, providing a full assortment of
winter refreshments.
Coca-Cola Radio brought more than 50 disc jockeys from around the globe
to broadcast Olympic Games excitement from Nagano, while a Coca-Cola Olympic
Games Web site gave Internet users an online Games experience. Coca-Cola
also sponsored the Kirie Art Program, which provided 3,500 prints of Japanese
Kirie art to Olympic athletes and officials as keepsakes of the Games.
The artworks reflected six different themes inspired by the region's natural
scenery and were used to decorate rooms within the Olympic Village.
Sydney 2000
For Sydney 2000, Coca-Cola shared the Spirit of the Olympic Games with
fans internationally through Olympic Pin Trading, Coca-Cola Radio (which
grew to nearly 60 participating stations) and the new "Coca-Cola
Olympic Club: Sydney" and "Powerade-Aquarius Training Camp"
- two similar, once-in-a-lifetime experiences for teens from around the
world. Both international activities offered young participants unique,
behind-the-scenes Olympic Games exposure, including use of state-of-the-art,
Olympic Games-style facilities, tickets to Olympic Games events, meetings
with Olympic athletes, and tours of Sydney's attractions and Olympic Games
venues. In demonstrating to teens what it is like to be an Olympic athlete,
Powerade-Aquarius Training Camp also featured sports clinics with athletes
and coaches.
For host country citizens and visitors alike, Australia's enthusiasm
for the Games was captured through Coca-Cola RedFest celebrations in Sydney,
Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, with live entertainment and big-screen
presentations of the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.
Salt Lake 2002
Coca-Cola marked the 10th anniversary of its first association with the
Olympic Torch Relay by serving as co-presenter and selecting more than
3,500 of the total 11,500 torchbearers for the 13,500-mile spectacle that
blazed through 46 American states. The Company again brought consumers
from other nations (nine countries for 2002) to be torchbearers in the
host country of the Games. More than 2,100 support runners also were provided
through Coca-Cola, and unveilings of "Coca-Cola Community Canvas"
teen artworks highlighted local celebrations in cities welcoming the Olympic
Flame. In addition, Coca-Cola commissioned world-renowned artist Peter
Max to create a commemorative painting, as a tribute to the inspirational
Community Canvas artworks and the Olympic Games. The Peter Max creation
was donated to Salt Lake City.
During the 2002 Games in Utah, more than 700,000 people connected with
Coca-Cola interactive experiences in Salt Lake City and Park City. As
at past events, crowds typically swelled at the ever-popular Coca-Cola
Olympic Pin Trading Centers, while a new attraction, Coca-Cola On The
Ice, became the fan focal point outside competition venues. On The Ice
featured high-tech, winter sports simulations and plenty of crowd action,
so guests could experience first-hand the thrill of the luge, bobsleigh,
hockey and curling, as well as the emotion of receiving a medal on the
victory stand. "Coca-Cola Live" interviews with Olympic legends
enhanced entertainment for Pin Trading Center visitors, while multi-cultural
"Coca-Cola Ambassadors" - hailing from five continents and speaking
some 20 languages - provided an extra-warm reception and helped unite
people from around the globe.
At the wintry Coca-Cola Radio broadcast hub in Park City, on-air personalities
from more than 45 U.S. stations beamed first-hand accounts of the 2002
Games atmosphere to their loyal listeners. Fans in cyberspace also kept
track of the Olympic Torch Relay and Salt Lake Games through coke.com/Olympics,
which recorded well more than 1 million visitors. Meanwhile, residents
in the surrounding Rocky Mountain region were randomly receiving free
Olympic tickets, courtesy of roving Coca-Cola Fan Vans. The Coca-Cola
Company was also helping safeguard the local environment during the high-traffic
period by piloting a 100-percent biodegradable cold drink cup, as well
as ensuring a complete "recycling loop" for used plastic soft
drink bottles collected at the event.
Athens 2004
For the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games, The Coca-Cola Company continued its
tradition of helping create magical moments for athletes and fans - in
Greece and around the world. The Company helped take global participation
to a new level through its major role in the "ATHENS 2004 Olympic
Torch Relay Presented by Coca-Cola." For the first truly worldwide
Olympic Torch Relay - a symbol of unity and inspiration - the Olympic
Flame traveled internationally to more than 30 cities on the five continents
represented by the Olympic Rings. The Flame then returned to Greece for
a final, five-week segment of the Olympic Torch Relay that culminated
with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron at the Opening Ceremony of the
ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games. Coca-Cola selected many of the more-than 11,000
torchbearers who helped carry the Olympic Flame on its historic, round-the-world
journey. The theme for the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Torch Relay was, "Pass
the flame, unite the world."
In Athens, the Coca-Cola Official Pin Trading Center made its tenth straight
appearance at the Olympic Games. Once again, the Pin Trading Center was
a place where people came together to share and celebrate the Spirit of
the Olympic Games, as well as add to their treasured pin collections.
With Coke O.N. Air, a first-time program, Greek youth made their own statements
about the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games experience and shared them with their
peers through a pioneering, specially created communications network of
daily television and radio programming and mobile telephone and Internet
features. And Coca-Cola Radio again broadcast live from the Olympic Games,
as top radio station DJ teams traveled to Greece to share the excitement
of the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games with listeners back home.
Coca-Cola also proudly served as Official Soft Drink of the ATHENS 2004
Olympic Games, quenching the thirst of athletes, officials, volunteers,
media and fans. The Company's worldwide operations created numerous local
programs to refresh fans everywhere and connect them with the Olympic
Spirit.
And More….
Coca-Cola also has demonstrated its commitment to the Olympic Movement
by establishing and supporting permanent Olympic institutions. In 1979,
the Company helped the USOC create the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, to honor
America's greatest Olympic athletes and preserve American Olympic Games
artifacts.
The Coca-Cola Olympic Women's Sports Program was established in 1982,
as The Coca-Cola Company increased its overall involvement in women's
sports programs, in tandem with the dramatic rise in female participation
in Olympic sports and athletics in general.
In 1987, Coca-Cola became the first sponsor of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne,
Switzerland, with a pledge of US$1 million to the International Olympic
Committee. The museum, which opened in 1993, showcases the legendary history
of the Olympic Games.
Coca-Cola and IOC Partnership Renewal
In August 2005, The Coca-Cola Company and the International Olympic Committee
announced the renewal of their historic partnership for an unprecedented
12 years.
This latest renewal of the most-enduring partnership in the history of
the Olympic Games begins in 2009 and lengthens the role of Coca-Cola as
Official Soft Drink of the Olympic Games through 2020. The deal also effectively
extends the partnership of Coca-Cola and the Olympic Movement - a relationship
that began in 1928 - to 92 years without interruption.
With the new, 12-year pact, Coca-Cola support of the Olympic Movement
extends from Torino 2006 and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games through the
Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the London 2012 Olympic Games, and
the Olympic Games of 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020.
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