The 3,000 square-metre restaurant, currently under construction, stretches over two floors and is the equivalent to half-the-length of an American football field.

It will have 1,500 seats and employ nearly 500 staff and is expected to serve around 50,000 Big Macs, 100,000 portions of fries and 30,000 milkshakes during the Games.

But despite critics suggesting that the move promotes unhealthy eating at London 2012, Coe has defended the company and highlighted the huge contribution that McDonalds make across the UK in sport and farming.

"I'm not here as a spokesperson for McDonalds, but they stick £300 million ($470 million/€358 million) a year into British farming," Coe said here.

"I mean, all beef and all pork [at the Olympic Park McDonalds] will be procured by either UK or Irish famers.

"They [McDonalds] make a massive investment in sport during the course of the year and if you want to eat McDonalds, then actually, the libertarian in me tells me it is fine.


"They have a right to sell their products as they are a sponsor.

"But they are not the exclusive providers of food in the Olympic Park.

"Less than 10 per cent of food available from the Olympic Park is going to be McDonalds."

McDonalds became an official sponsor of the Olympic Games in 1976 and has a longstanding commitment to the Olympic Movement, having airlifted hamburgers to US athletes competing at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, after reporting they were homesick for McDonalds' food.

Earlier this year, at the Innsbruck 2012 Youth Olympics, the company extended their sponsorship of the Olympics until 2020 in a $100 million (£65 million/€78 million) deal.

This means they now join P&G, Visa, Omega, Dow Chemical, GE and Coca-Cola who already have sponsorship agreements through to the 2020 Games.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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