2014 Sochi Winter Olympics derive record income from sponsors

PanARMENIAN.Net - Two and a half years before its start, the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics is already the most successful in the history of the games at deriving income from national sponsors, beating the Beijing Summer Olympics' record.

The games have taken in over $1.2 billion, Olympic organizing committee chairman Dmitry Chernyshenko announced at a session in Sochi, The Moscow Times reported.

Last weekend, the committee signed a sponsorship agreement with Russian Buses (part of GAZ) and Skania Rus, as well as with recruiting agencies Adecco Group, EXECT Business Training and Kelly Services.

Services are to be provided under the contract in addition to payment for the right to use the Olympic symbol and Sochi 2014 logo. Russian Buses and Skania Rus will provide buses, and Adecco Group will select temporary personnel to work at the games.

The committee has an agreement with one more company, the identity of which is not being revealed, a committee representative said. A contract is expected to be signed before year-end and is considered in the calculation of the $1.2 billion sum.

National sponsors make contracts with the organizing committee through competitions and are the committee's main source of income, since income from ticket sales is relatively slight.

With the latest contracts, the number of partners for the 2014 Olympics amounts to 18. Eight sponsors account for almost $1 billion. The largest sponsor is Rosneft, which paid $180 million, followed by MegaFon and Tatneft at $130 million each. Gazprom declined to become a sponsor.