The Beijing Olympics closed yesterday and the torch has been successfully (and grandly, if I may add) passed on to the host of the 2012 Olympics – London. I don’t know about you, but I am quite excited about this. The big even may be 4 years away but as early as now, the organizers of the next Olympics are already up and about, making preparations.
The Independent, however, has reported something that is a bit alarming. Apparently, there is still a lack of sponsors for the 2012 Olympics.
Which names do you remember from the Beijing Olympics? The Mansfield Mermaid Rebecca Adlington? The cyclists Chris Hoy or Rebecca Romero? Manulife? Atos Origin? The last two did not win gold, they spent it, but if their names have passed you by, their £50m sponsorship looks like money badly spent.
Several of the Olympics’ 12 main sponsors are questioning whether the cost has been worth it, and that is worrying London as it tries to persuade commercial companies to bridge its funding gap for the 2012 Games.
This is not good news but then again, there is still a long road ahead for the organizers. I think that many big companies were waiting for the Beijing Olympics to end before making any commitments. One good thing that can contribute to encouraging British companies to shell out some money for the London Olympics is the fact that Team GB did pretty well in the Beijing Olympics – they in fact surpassed most people’s expectations.
I guess we have to sit back, wait, and hope that the companies would have a change of heart.