Coke Unveils "Eight-Pack" Athletes; Sponsors Present Olympic Torch Relay

Coke Launches London Campaign

With just over a year until the 2012 London Olympics, TOP sponsor Coca-Cola has launched its Olympic campaign.

Coke presented its "Eight-Pack" athletes which includes Olympians and Paralympians and Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls from Team USA.

The group of eight athletes met in Boston last week to take photos that will be featured in 2012 on Coke’s Olympic items and advertisements.

The "Eight-Pack" includes diver David Boudia, wrestler Henry Cejudo, boxer Marlen Esparza, tennis player John Isner, gymnast Shawn Johnson, Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long, football player Alex Morgan and hurdler David Oliver.

The athletes also will act as Coca-Cola "Ambassadors of Active Living". The program is designed to encourage people to be active.

Sponsors Present Olympic Torch Relay

One year from the arrival of the Olympic Flame in the U.K, London 2012 announces the first 74 locations for the torch relay route. Land's End in the county of Cornwall is the starting point of the 70-day tour.

The Olympic flame will travel for about 12 hours each day, concluding on 66 of the 70 days with an evening celebration event allowing thousands of people to enjoy concerts and shows staged by LOCOG and the three presenting partners Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung.

Nearly 8,000 volunteers will carry the Olympic Flame during the torch relay.

Only 2,012 of the 8,000 torchbearer spots are up for grabs via LOCOG’s so-called "Moment to Shine" campaign. The rest will be awarded by presenting partners Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung via separate nomination processes expected to open next month.

"The Olympic Flame will shine a light right across every nation and region of the U.K. and showcase the very best of who we are and where we live," said London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe.

LOCOG also announced the following supporting partners of the torch relay: Worldwide Olympic Partner Visa, tier one partners BMW, BT and EDF Energy and tier three providers Aggreko and Holiday Inn.

The torch relay will start at Land’s End, Cornwall on the morning of 19 May 2012 after arriving from Athens, Greece. The Olympic Flame will tour English towns and cities as well, while stops in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are planned.

The torch relay arrives in London on July 21, making six stops before travelling to the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium for the lighting of the cauldron at the opening ceremony on July 27.

IAAF World Champs Gain New Sponsor

Steel maker POSCO has signed on to sponsors the 2011 IAAF World Championships set for Daegu, Korea.

"Thisis excellent news since the IAAF and Dentsu had a minimum objective of 8 sponsors in 2011 and that is now achieved," IAAF president Lamine Diack said in a press release.

"The success of the IAAF World Championships and our other competitions and programs is only possible with the enthusiastic support of our Partners, and the IAAF can now boast a global family of blue chip commercial allies."

The IAAF’s marketing partner, Dentsu, helped negotiate the deal. POSCO joins TDK, Toyota, Seiko, Samsung, VTB, Sinopec and adidas as sponsors.

Hong Kong Sevens Gets Co-Title Sponsors

The 2012-2015 Hong Kong Sevens will now be titled the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens after the two companies became co-title sponsor for the rugby football event.

The two were previously co-title sponsors of the Hong Kong Sevens from 1980 through the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 1997.

"TheHKRFU [Hong Kong Rugby Football Union] is delighted to partner with two iconic Hong Kong institutions for what is undoubtedly the world’s iconic sevens event," Trevor Gregory, Chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union, said in a press release.

"HSBC and Cathay Pacific are synonymous with Hong Kong and like the Hong Kong Sevens do much to represent Hong Kong around the world."

USOC Store Reopens, Partners with Staples

The USOC's newly renovated Team USA shop is back in business at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado and has a new partner.

The Team USA Shop has partnered with Staples Promotional Products to manage the shop and its merchandise.

Tuesday’s reopening is timed to coincide with the second annual Warrior Games taking place this week at the training center. Competition ends Sunday, but the store is there to stay.

"The store’s new look enhances the visitor experience at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and offers a wide variety of Nike and Outerstuff gear, along with additional licensed products, which are available just in time to help fans support Team USA during the patriotic summer holidays," USOC Managing Director of Consumer Products Peter Zeytonnjian said in a press release.

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With reporting from Isia Reaves Wilcox and Mark Bisson.

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