Exclusive: London 2012 will help BP recover from Gulf oil spill claims Olympics Minister

By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year

June 6 - BP's sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics will help the company restore its reputation after the oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico which killed 11 people and is one of the worst environmental disasters in United States history, Britain's Olympics and Sports Minister Hugh Robertson has predicted.

There is growing question marks in the US over whether it is appropriate that the the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) should continue its sponsorship deal with BP, who signed a $15 million (£9.5 million) only in February.

Agent Evan Morgenstein, whose clients include American gold medallists Dara Torres, Amanda Beard, Aaron Peirsol and Eric Shanteau, claimed he has received a number of calls about the partnership with the British company following the disaster which started in April.

He told Associated Press: "In the end, it's not about the $15 million.

"It's about the brand.

"They [in the Olympic Movement] talk about branding all the time and the value of the rings.

"If they're not starting to get the feeling that the rings are covered in oil, then they should wait a while and do nothing.

"Then, trust me, the rings will be soaked in oil."

The USOC claim that the deal is not in jeopardy, although BP is not currently listed among its "Family of Sponsors" on its official website.

London 2012 last week told insidethegames that the company's £50 million ($72 million) sponsorship of the Olympics and Paralympics is not in danger.

The Tier One deal, which was announced in July 2008 at a glittering ceremony at the British Museum attended by London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe and BP chief executive Tony Hayward (pictured), saw the oil company become the third sustainability partner of London 2012, alongside EDF Energy and BT.

They won the rights to London 2012 beating main rival Shell after what, Coe described, as a "long drawn-out process that was incredibly competitive".

Robertson has said that he has confidence in that BP will continue their commitment to London 2012, along with that of another company currently experiencing severe problems, British Airways, who are also a Tier One sponsor.

Earlier this year the self-styled "world's favourite airline" announced record losses of £531 million ($767 million) and are being hit hard by industrial action involving its cabin crew.

Robertson told insidethegames: "They are both big prestigious British companies.

"The question of whether they sponsor the Games is a commercial decision that they have made.

"I suspect that they will actually find it is a very good decision because the publicity they will get out of sponsoring London's Olympics will be precisely the sort of thing they need in order to help them recover from their current difficulties.

"The ability to be able to say, as a big multi-national, actually we do have a proper corporate social responsibility.

"There can be no more exciting project in Britain today than London's 2012 Olympics so I'm absolutely delighted to see the big multi-nationals signed up to it."

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