– This partnership, from our perspective, is a perfect match, said the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach when the collaboration was announced in a pub in London. – I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. It fell on its own absurdity to say that enjoyment of sport and enjoyment of life are synonymous with alcohol, says secretary general of the alcohol vet organization Av-og-til Ragnhild Kaski to news. Ski jumper Silje Opseth agrees: – I don’t understand. Then I know we are heading in the wrong direction. If you can’t enjoy sporting achievements without alcohol, I’m disappointed in the direction we’re taking. LOSS OF VALUE: The Olympics should not be associated with alcohol, says Felix Baldauf, who is afraid that finances and money trump the core values in sport. Photo: Eirik Haukenes / news Brytar Felix Baldauf is also skeptical. – We do not get anything out of this collaboration. It does not trickle down to us athletes. Should we be associated with it? It will be very stupid, says Hodet in Klemme-stjerna. It is the large beer producer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) that has entered into sponsorship cooperation with the IOC for the next three Olympic Games in Paris 2024, Milan 2026 and Los Angeles 2028, and the Paralympics. JOY OF SPORTS: Silje Opseth believes that alcohol has nothing to do with sports. Photo: AP – Sports laundering Kaski believes the IOC has made a “miserable decision”: – It is an example of a form of sports laundering by the alcohol industry, which the IOC agrees to in an open desire for more financial support. – It joins the series of bad ethical choices we have seen from international sports in the last couple of years in pursuit of more money. We are surprised that this is something they will do for the first time in 2024, at the same time as the rest of the world is going in the opposite direction, says Kaski. CRITICAL: Ragnhild Kaski points out that “having an alcohol producer as the main sponsor is something different from the debate about serving alcohol in the stands.” Photo: Bård Gundersen / Occasionally For several countries alcohol policy is tightening and the World Health Organization (WHO) is warning against alcohol advertising. AB InBev is part of the Olympic partnership programme, where companies such as Coca-Cola, Visa and Deloitte are already involved. The Belgian-Brazilian company produces well-known brands such as Budweiser, Beck’s, Bud Light, Stella Artois and Corona. It is the latter product that they will advertise in the Olympics this summer, but in the alcohol-free version, Corona Cero. But in the summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, the alcohol player plans to advertise precisely one alcoholic product; Michelob ULTRA. CERO: AB Inbev CEO Michel Doukeris enjoys the alcohol-free Corona Cero at the announcement event with the IOC. Photo: AP – The alcohol giant knows what they’re doing According to the company, they want to promote responsible consumption to “the billions of Olympic fans around the world, with a message of connection, moderation and celebration.” Opseth, who is also an ambassador for Sports without alcohol, is not convinced. – Alcohol-free sounds more positive. It should be allowed to celebrate good achievements, and then it is better that it is done without alcohol. Nevertheless, the producer does not only sell alcohol-free beer, says the hopper, and elaborates: – It is a classic marketing trick. They get enough of exactly what they want, which is presumably to sell more alcoholic beverages. It’s disappointing. SKEPTICAL: Ski jumper Silje Opseth does not like the development. Photo: NTB Kaski in Av-og-til thinks it is obvious what the manufacturer wants the viewer to think and what associations he will get from the Corona bottle. – Using an alcohol-free variant to market your alcoholic products is a well-known marketing strategy, and in this case makes us think of Corona with alcohol. In Norway, we have a ban on such advertising, because we know how it is both perceived and exploited. The alcohol giant AB InBev knows what they are doing. The IOC wrote to news that AB InBev works for responsible alcohol consumption and moderation worldwide. – They will work to promote this effort by presenting Corona Cero, the fast-growing beer brand without alcohol, as the leading brand of the global Olympic partnership programme, the IOC writes further. Do you see a difference between the beer with and without alcohol? Brytar Baldauf is positive about an alcohol-free alternative: – If an alcohol producer is to be advertised first, I am in favor of the drink being advertised without alcohol. It will be done in Germany, where I compete now. It makes people aware that there is an alternative. If athletes show that you can drink alcohol-free, and that can lead to less pressure to drink, that is good. Nevertheless, he is clear that alcohol and sport do not go together. – It is important to safeguard the healthy values of sport, also with children in mind. I also don’t think that athletes will be associated with alcohol. I am thinking, for example, of Muslim fellow competitors. It’s about mutual respect, Baldauf believes. The IOC has been presented with the criticism and wrote to news that local Olympic units have collaborated with beer companies since 1928. – In addition, it is a long tradition for major international sports events around the world to have sponsorship agreements with brewers, they write. EC: Felix Baldauf won EC gold in 2017. Now he is working to qualify for the Olympics in Paris. Photo: Tommy Skauen / NTB scanpix Secretary General of the Norwegian Sports Confederation Nils Einar Aas wrote to news that the agreement must comply with the national legislation when it comes to profiling and marketing in each individual country: – In Norway there is a ban on advertising non-alcoholic beer with the same brand or company mark or characteristics as alcoholic beer, and this is of course something that both sports organizations and others are obliged to maintain. Do you think it is okay to sponsor alcohol in the Olympics? Yes, is it that dangerous? No, that would be too stupid. I do not care. Show result
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– We are heading in the wrong direction – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
