Amsterdam, 3 February 2011 - The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has appointed Heineken UK, Britain's leading brewer, as Official Lager Supplier and sponsor of London 2012 in a tier three sponsorship deal.
As part of the deal, the company's flagship premium beer, Heineken will be the branded lager served at the Games and Heineken UK will have exclusive pouring rights for its portfolio of beer and cider brands at all London 2012 venues where alcohol is served.
As an Official Supplier of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, Heineken will be able to utilise exclusive hospitality and marketing opportunities associated with the event. It will also enjoy sponsorship and venue supply rights associated with the British Olympic Association, Team GB, the British Paralympic Association and the Paralympics GB team.
London 2012 Commercial Director Chris Townsend said: "Like many major events, the provision of food and drink is a part of the overall experience and this year sees our plans in this regard move up a gear. We are especially pleased to be working with Heineken, as we have a shared goal of encouraging adult visitors to our venues where alcohol is served to celebrate responsibly. We welcome Heineken to the London 2012 family and look forward to working with them between now and the summer of 2012."
Alexis Nasard, Chief Commercial Officer, Heineken N.V. said: "There are no bigger, global or more spectacular events than the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. We selected this opportunity as it fully reflects Heineken's global brand position. It also provides a wonderful platform for the promotion of responsible drinking. Based on the experiences gained from being a long-term sponsor of premier sporting events such as the UEFA Champions League and the Rugby World Cup we will utilise London 2012 to celebrate with the world in a way that only Heineken can do."
Stefan Orlowski, Managing Director, Heineken UK, said: "We are delighted to secure this sponsorship and supply agreement with the London 2012 Games. We look forward to working with LOCOG to capitalise on the exciting opportunities it offers for the Heineken brand and Heineken UK. It is a significant investment and undertaking for the company and one that can help build pride amongst all our colleagues, business partners and consumers across the UK".
- END -
Press enquiries:
John G. Clarke
Heineken International
Tel: + 31 (0)20 52 39 355
John.G.Clarke@heineken.com
Notes to editors:
About London 2012:
As it heads towards its £2bn budget for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters - Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty one domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers - Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, GSK, Gymnova, Heineken, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, Next, The Nielsen Company, Populous, Technogym, Ticketmaster and Trident.
There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games Partner, Sainsbury's one domestic Tier Three supplier Otto Bock.
The Worldwide Olympic Partners signed up for London 2012 are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos Origin, Dow Chemical Company, GE, McDonald's, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.
For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com. Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog http://blog.london2012.com or follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/london2012.
About Heineken UK:
Heineken UK is an operating company of Heineken NV, Europe's biggest brewer. Headquartered in Edinburgh it is the UK's leading long alcoholic drinks producer with an unrivalled portfolio of beer and cider brands.
Heineken UK employs around 2,500 people across a number of locations in the country.
Heineken UK is member of the Portman Group and a key funder/supporter of the Drink Aware Trust; and promotes responsible drinking.
For more information visit www.heineken.co.uk.
About Heineken:
Heineken is one of the world's great brewers and is committed to growth and remaining independent. The brand that bears the founder's family name - Heineken - is available 170 markets around the globe and is the world's most valuable international premium beer brand. The Company's aim is to be a leading brewer in each of the markets in which it operates and to have the world's most valuable brand portfolio. The Company operates 140 breweries in more than 70 countries and sold 165.7 million hectolitres of beer on a 2009 pro-forma basis. Heineken is Europe's largest brewer and the world's third largest by volume. Heineken is committed to the responsible marketing and consumption of its more than 200 international premium, regional, local and specialty beers and ciders. These include Amstel, Birra Moretti, Cruzcampo, Dos Equis, Foster's, Kingfisher, Newcastle Brown Ale, Ochota, Primus, Sagres, Sol, Star, Strongbow, Tecate, Tiger and Zywiec. On a 2009 pro-forma basis, including FEMSA Cerveza, revenue totalled €16.9 billion and EBIT (beia) was €2.3 billion. The average number of people employed is more than 75,000. Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. shares are listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange. Prices for the ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbols HEIA NA and HEIO NA and on the Reuter Equities 2000 Service under HEIN.AS and HEIO.AS. Most recent information is available on Heineken's home page: http://www.heinekeninternational.com.
