The Reasons Behind the Increasing Commercialism of the Olympic Games

The Reasons Behind the Increasing Commercialism of the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a world wide event, held once every 4 years. It

is the most important event amongst the elite athletes of today. It is

viewed on television by billions of people across the world, by

satellite transmission (started in Tokyo in 1964). This worldwide

viewing attracted sponsors as they realised that by supporting the

Olympics their product would be advertised on every product sold, as

they would be the 'official sponsor'. The advances in technology has

played a fundamental role in the increase in commercialism, as large

sums of money are put forwards for television rights over the Games

from companies such as Sky, the BBC and ABC.

Sponsorship plays an essential function in the running of the

Olympics. Money from sponsors is used for administration, travel and

accommodation for the athletes and officials, communication and

equipment. In the Barcelona Olympics of 1992, there were 44 companies

included in The Olympic Programme (TOP). The commercialisation or

Americanisation of the Games involves many multinational companies

like McDonald's, who have been involved with the Olympic Movement

since 1976 when it became an official sponsor of the Olympic Games in

Montreal. McDonald's joins The Coca-Cola Company, Kodak Company, Sema

Group, TIME/Sports Illustrated, Xerox, and VISA as TOP V sponsors, to

name a few. A spokesman for McDonald's, Jack Greenberg, believed that

McDonald's were a "unique company, capable of bringing the fun and

excitement of the world's premiere sporting event to 43 million

customers every day."

However the real reason behind this sponsor was chosen as it was

offering the Olympic Committee millions of dollars in sponsorship.

McDonald's, as an example, wanted to exploit the Games, using it as an

advertising tool, to imply their company has a clean, reliable and

idealistic image like that of the Olympics.

The Salt Lake Organising Committee received approximately US$ 1,390.5

million from Olympic marketing programmes, but a question asked by

many is

Where exactly does all the money come from?