Yes, the Olympics are on and Brits drinking the Powerade (from sponsor Coca-Cola), are no longer keeping calm and carrying on.
Unless Team GB’s soccer squads inspire many generations in this nation, these Olympics will not be as successful as Sebastian Coe and LOCOG had hoped when they were a mere bid committee that won the five-ring circus at the International Olympic Committee meetings in Singapore in 2005. The economy was different then. Very different.
The committee has faced challenges due to the deep recession and continued economic austerity in the U.K. Other complications included the need to call in the military to cover parts of Games security, after global security giant G4S said it could not deliver enough security workers.
LOCOG found tickets to the soccer (called football in the U.K.) were selling too slowly in the land that gave the world the game, so it withdrew 500,000 from the market. That made one of McDonald’s poster ads a tad prophetic. It features a photo of a lone, frowning fan sitting in a section of empty blue seats – and hangs in Stratford Station, the bustling terminus for the Olympic Park in East London.
British Airways and Deloitte are using their Olympic ad buy to carry over into the Paralympics. While the IOC and International Paralympic Committee still won’t agree to combine their Games, sponsors are nudging them to do so. What’s refreshing about the BA ads, which dominate the Underground station at Canadian-built Canary Wharf, is that they even say “don’t fly.” Yes, an Olympic sponsor that’s encouraging consumers not to buy.
London has the same clean venue policy that perplexed Vancouverites. Remember General Motors Place becoming Canada Hockey Place?
Telecom O2 has naming rights to the former Millennium Dome in Greenwich. But for Games-goers, it is the North Greenwich Arena, site of gymnastics and basketball. One of the soccer venues is the City of Coventry Stadium, regularly known as the Ricoh Arena. Saner heads prevailed in one area. Companies that worked on the Olympic Stadium and Olympic Village will be able to trumpet their connection this September. Until they complained, they were told they couldn’t do so until 2024.
American track and field athletes took to Twitter with messages bearing the hashtags #WeDemandChange2012 and #Rule40 to oppose the IOC rule that forbids athletes from endorsing non-IOC sponsors for a month while the Olympic Village is open. It is not uncommon for athletes to be sponsored by companies that compete with IOC sponsors. The IOC says Rule 40 exists to protect sponsors, whose money eventually trickles down to the athletes.
But back to the British public, where spotting a member of the Royal Family in the crowd has been practically an Olympic sport. William and Kate have been seen at a host of venues – one highlight being them doing the Mexican wave during a tennis match at Wimbledon.
LOCOG tried something that VANOC avoided: letting the public in on the secret. For weeks, elements of the opening ceremony were revealed. It was no secret that Paul McCartney would close the show.
Producer Danny Boyle made sure the public knew it would happen on a man-made farmer’s field and village inside the 80,000-seat stadium. Clips from rehearsals were provided to the BBC. The cauldron and final torchbearers were kept secret until the last moment, as they should.
The ceremony even included a crafty product placement, with a Mini. The new iteration of the British compact car is, of course, part of BMW’s portfolio. But don’t worry: German BMW is an official Games sponsor. •
