2012 Olympics signs BP as top tier sponsor

BP has signed up as the latest tier one sponsor of the London 2012 Olympics. The deal, announced this morning (July 3), is understood to be worth at least 50m and will make the brand the official oil and gas partner.

BP.gifBP has signed up as the latest Tier One sponsor of the London 2012 Olympics. The deal, announced this morning (July 3), is understood to be worth at least £50m and will make the brand the official oil and gas partner.

BP will supply fuelling facilities to “keep the Games moving” and will also be part of an extensive arts, culture and education programme during the Cultural Olympiad, which starts after the Beijing Olympics later this summer.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympics Games (Locog)) is committed to raising £650m from commercial deals. It is seeking at least eight Tier One domestic partners, each paying at least £40m. To date, it has signed up Lloyds TSB, Adidas, EDF Energy, British Airways and British Telecom.

In its second layer of commercial relationships, known as Tier Two supporters, Locog has so far signed up professional services group Deloitte. It is thought Locog will seek as many as 20 or 30 companies for this level of sponsorship.

Tier One categories yet to be filled are thought to be homewares and automotive but Locog chairman Lord Coe recently said that it had not yet finalised the total number of categories and others may yet become available.

London 2012 also gets a share from the Olympic Partners programme, which is made up of companies that have bought worldwide marketing rights from the International Olympics Committee (IOC). Companies make agreements for at least four years at a time. Those in place for 2012 are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos Origin, General Electric, McDonalds, Omega, Panasonic, Samsung and Visa. The IOC partners are entitled to use the famous Olympic hoops, while London 2012 domestic partners may only use the London logo.