Paris: Health experts and activists associated with over 45 organisations ahead of Paris 2024 urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to terminate the Coca Cola's sponsorship of sporting events throughout the world.
Olympic longest running partner
Coca-Cola, one of the largest soda companies in the world, is the longest-running partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), sponsoring every Olympic tournament since 1928.
In order to press their demand, the organisations have started an online campaign, "Kick Big Soda Out of Sport".
The campaign launched online and running on various social media platforms including YouTube, X, Facebook and Instagram, highlights the soft drink's harms and calls for the global community's support.
The organistions highlighting the health issues sugary beverages are causing have also asked supporters to sign an online petition.
Citing escalating rates of non-communicable diseases associated with consuming sugary beverages, these groups assert the International Olympic Committee's (IOC's) association with unhealthy products undermines its commitment to promoting a healthy society through sport.
"Serving as a major sponsor of the Olympics allows companies to blanket events with logos, reaching an audience of over 3 billion," said Trish Cotter, Global Lead of the Food Policy Program at Vital Strategies.
Vital Strategies supports the enactment and evaluation of policy efforts that aim to move people toward healthier diets around the world.
"The link between sugary beverages and chronic and largely preventable diseases 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 directly contradicts the IOC's mission and undermines the achievements of Olympians", he said.
The international multi-sport event, Olympics 2024, is scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024 in France, with some competitions starting on July 24, 2024.
"This campaign is bringing much-needed attention to sugary drink companies using sport to add to their bottom line," Nzama Mbalati, Chief Executive Officer of HEALA, a civil society coalition in South Africa advocating for a more just food system, said while lending his support to the campaign.
"The audience of the 2024 Olympic Games should be informed about the intent behind these ads", he added.
"This petition underscores the need for the IOC to prioritize 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. "The IOC has an unprecedented opportunity to uphold its reputation as a beacon of integrity, excellence and social responsibility."
"As guardians of the Olympic Movement, the IOC is urged to terminate Coca-Cola's sponsorship and reject future sponsorships from corporations that do not align with Olympic values", the online petition said.
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