AB InBev to be global sponsor of Olympics

Belgian Budweiser parent signs for next 3 Games

LONDON – The International Olympic Committee has signed AnheuserBusch InBev as the first beer brand in the 40-year history of its sponsorship program, which earns billions of dollars for the organization and international sports.

The deal was announced Friday by the IOC and AB InBev – the Belgiumbased

brewing giant whose brands include Budweiser, Corona, Michelob and Modelo – for the next three Summer and Winter Games. The Paris Olympics open on July 26, and the deal also includes the 2026 Winter Games in northern Italy, then – the likely prize asset – the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Corona Cero, the zero-alcohol version of the Corona brand that is ranked second most valuable worldwide in the brewing industry, will be “global beer sponsor of the Olympic Games,” the heads of the IOC and AB InBev said.

The value of the deal was not disclosed, though the IOC has said some of its sponsors pay more than $300 million to be in its The Olympic Partner program for a four-year commercial cycle.

“ABInBev and our brands, they support sports globally and they celebrate the opportunities that people have to get together, because we all know that beer and sports go very well with the fans,” AB InBev CEO Michel Doukeris told The AP in an interview.

The IOC launched the TOP program in 1985, a year after its ailing commercial prospects were rebooted by the Los Angeles Games and has typically aligned with technology and logistics companies that can help Games organizers in host cities. Deloitte, Intel and Toyota are on the current slate.

The Olympic body has never signed a beer or alcohol brand for its global event, which is widely viewed as the pinnacle of athletic achievement, with an increasing number of young teenage medalists in new sports like skateboarding. Beer deals, however, are routine for local organizers.

Sales of nonalcoholic beer, wine and spirits have been growing faster than sales of their alcoholic counterparts for several years now, buoyed by younger drinkers’ concerns about health and wellness.