Public health specialists urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday to sever its links with Coca-Cola in order to safeguard athletes’, spectators’, and the environment’s health during the current Olympic games.
Experts from Vital Strategies, a public health organization, shared their opinions in an editorial that will appear in the BMJ Global Health magazine.
They contend that Coca-Cola has undue influence over business and governmental leaders due to the company’s sponsorship of sports, which forces them to subtly promote harmful, sugary drinks.
Since almost a century ago, Coca-Cola has sponsored the Olympic Games, demonstrating the power of this high-profile sponsorship as a marketing tool.
Coca-Cola held the record for the most sports sponsorships in 2023, with its largest ongoing agreement with the IOC among them.
The experts highlight how sport has the ability to shape public opinion. They point to football player Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2021 European football championship gesture, in which he reportedly lost $4 billion in market value by putting aside Coca-Cola bottles in favor of water during a press conference.
With a contract that runs through at least 2032, Coca-Cola continues to be a top-tier sponsor of the Olympics despite the known health dangers associated with sugar-filled drinks, such as obesity and heart disease.
According to the writers, Coca-Cola had a great opportunity to advertise at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which attracted over 3 billion viewers.
According to the experts, Coca-Cola executives are able to interact with elite athletes and leaders through sponsorship, which facilitates the “sportswashing” of unhealthy products.
Additionally, they draw attention to how the drink’s distribution and packaging practices affect the environment by causing plastic pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and water insecurity.
The experts are still adamant that the IOC’s partnership with Coca-Cola goes against the principles of the Olympic movement and exacerbates the world’s environmental and nutritional problems.
They demand that the IOC cut all connections with the business, making a strong statement about sustainability, ethics, and health.
