Leading Chinese computer company Lenovo completes the TOP table of sponsors
The Olympics are already the world's biggest marketing event but the lure of China's massive, untapped market has added a new dimension to the Games and some of the world's top companies are keen to get on board. Many of the world's biggest brands have already signed up for a presence at the competition, which is even more of a draw than Athens was this year, as firms seek to gain a foothold in China. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) keeps a tight rein on how many companies can use the famous five rings symbol globally and sponsorship works on various levels, from national to global.
Top of the heap are the elite group of sponsors known as The Olympic Partners, or TOP, which sign up for a four-year deal to include one summer and one winter Games - TOP sponsorship for the 2005 to 2008 period will include both the 2006 Turin Winter Games and the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.
There are only 11 global players each paying around HK$470 million for exclusive global rights to sponsor the Games. They are Lenovo, Coca-Cola, Kodak, McDonald's, General Electric, John Hancock, Panasonic, Samsung, Swatch, Visa and Schlumberger.
Lenovo, China's top computer company, was the last of the 11 sponsors to sign up.
When it joined the elite club in March, it was a landmark in China's opening up to the world, becoming the country's first truly global sponsor.