London Olympics, corporate games?

This video from Canada says about itself:

The Drink of the Death Squads

Choir performance at a transit station in Vancouver of a song by David Rovics, in front of Coke [Coca-Cola] advertising, just before transit police arrive.

Coke is an official sponsor of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver beginning Feb. 12.

By Tony Patey in Britain:

Games chiefs query fast food sponsors

Monday 09 July 2012

The fast and loose sponsorship of the Olympics – driven by bank balance rather than suitability – has come under fire from Games chiefs themselves, it emerged today.

Fast-food giant McDonald’s and fizzy drink colossus Coca-Cola have both faced challenges at the highest level over their sponsorship given a growing obesity epidemic.

President of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge said mounting financial demands linked to the event made it hard to protect core Olympic values – including healthy living.

In an interview with the Financial Times he said the Games had come under fire from health groups and there had been a “question mark” over McDonald’s and Coca-Cola.

Mr Rogge said organisers had said to the companies: “Listen, there is an issue in terms of the growing trend on obesity, what are you going to do about that?”

He said despite the introduction of healthier menu options and zero-calorie drinks the renewal of the sponsorship deals until 2020 earlier this year was “not an easy decision.”

And Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland has condemned the choice of official beer sponsor as based “on the size of Heineken‘s cheque book” rather than the Dutch brewer’s suitability.

McDonald’s – whose four restaurants in the park will include its biggest ever with 1,500 seats – will have the monopoly on brand-name foods at the Games and Coke has exclusive right to sell non-alcoholic drinks.

War on Want senior economic justice campaigns officer Murray Worthy said: “The IOC and London organisers may have held long discussions about some sponsors, but their decisions to accept money from notorious companies betray the Games’ values of human achievement, fair play and respect.

“The Olympics have degenerated into a multi billion-dollar scramble by multinational corporations to associate their brands with the Games spirit.

“If the Games organisers were serious about upholding Olympic values, companies with appalling records on workers’ rights violations, such as Adidas, would never have been awarded lucrative partnership deals.”

London Olympic missile sites confirmed despite protests: here.

Also in Britain: Rail workers upped the pressure on three train privateers today after they managed to squeeze proper recognition for their Olympics work out of Southern: here.

The Con-Dems‘ back-of-a-fag-packet policies came home to roost today when the immigration watchdog aired concerns about poorly trained staff being dragooned into border control for the Olympics: here.