Olympics sponsors to keep out of politics

Activists are pressuring sponsors for help.

BEIJING (AP) — McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and other sponsors paid tens of millions of dollars to link their names with the Beijing Olympics. Now they’re trying to mollify activists pressing for change on Tibet, Darfur and other issues, without angering China.

They have expressed concern over Tibet. Some talk privately to Beijing organizers. Samsung Electronics Co. called off a Beijing news conference scheduled for Friday on the torch relay. But sponsors insist they should stay out of politics.

“We all have to be careful about how we talk about this,” said Chris Renner, president for China of sports marketing consulting firm Helios Partners. Its clients include sponsors Volkswagen AG, computer maker Lenovo Group and mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd.

The Olympics almost always attract activists interested in leveraging the popular event to publicize their causes.

At the 1996 Atlanta Games, sponsors faced boycott calls after a county where the beach volleyball event was to be held enacted a measure deemed anti-gay. In Sydney in 2000, there were protests about the environment and Australian aboriginal rights.

But the Beijing Games have generated more heat, in part because of an array of activist groups long critical of China’s policies — and newer ones focused on its economic and diplomatic clout.

“Everybody knows we’re pretty much on the biggest platform you can pick,” Renner said.

Sponsors were already on the lookout for controversy over Sudan, a diplomatic partner and Chinese oil supplier, as well as press freedom, human rights and Tibet.

After protests last week by Tibetans against Chinese rule — and Beijing’s crackdown — sponsors said they were watching events closely.

A few have turned to public relations specialists for advice, said a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Coca-Cola Co., Lenovo, McDonald’s Corp. and others said this week they plan no changes in strategy.

Likely to face immediate pressure could be Lenovo, Coca-Cola and Samsung, the three sponsors of the Olympic torch relay. The worldwide trek begins this month and will pass through Tibet and up Mount Everest.

Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee, or BOCOG, vowed Wednesday that the anti-government riots in Tibet last week and a subsequent crackdown by authorities would not disrupt plans for the torch relay.

“We know the incidents are the last thing we want to see, but we firmly believe that the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region will be able ensure the stability of Lhasa and Tibet, and also be able to ensure the smooth going of the torch relay in Tibet,” Jiang told reporters.

Abroad, Tibet activists say they will protest along the torch route in India, Britain and elsewhere to highlight complaints that Beijing is degrading the Himalayan region’s distinctive Buddhist culture.

“We have no plans to change any of our activities related to the torch relay,” said Christine F. Lau, a Coca-Cola spokeswoman in Beijing.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said Sunday the body is “very concerned” about Tibet. But the IOC insists it is not in a position to pressure China on political matters.

The Olympics is both a premier advertising platform in the fast-growing China market and a chance for sponsors to build ties with Chinese officials by backing a national prestige event.