A number of new partnerships signed last week have seen the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games pass the $1.2 billion (£760 million) mark in sponsorship, moving past the marks set by both Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
The astonishing accomplishment for a winter Games owes much to a sponsorship model that guarantees its major sponsors a return on investment by giving them exclusive rights or other business advantages in Sochi and the surrounding Krasnodar region.
‘The Sochi Olympics is unique in everything,’ said Leonid Zhestyannikov, first vice-president of the Russian Association for Sport and Leisure Facilities, to insidethegames.biz. ‘This is why many companies invest in it so eagerly.’
Recent partnerships include the likes of Adecco and Scania, who join major partners including Rostelecom and Sberbank.
Alongside the IOC’s top partner programme, the billion-dollar plus deals secured by London 2012 and sponsorships of Rio 2016 already running into the hundreds of millions, the Olympic sponsorship market as a whole is currently well in excess of $3 billion.
