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Olympic Partners Get Behind the Youth Olympic Games(Targeted News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Aug. 23 -- The International Olympic Committee issued the following news release: Just like the Olympic Games, the YOG would not be possible without the help and support of the Worldwide Olympic Partners. By providing operational support and a variety of goods and services, the Worldwide Olympic Partners make an integral contribution to the staging of the Games, while their numerous promotional programmes and activities also help spread the word about the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore. Coca-Cola, for instance, was a Presenting Partner for the Singapore leg of the Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame, while it has also provided over 1.5 million beverages to support the Games. "The inaugural Youth Olympic Games have proven to be a wonderful way to introduce young people to the values that Coca-Cola shares with the Olympic Movement - especially an understanding of the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle," said Thierry Borra, Director, Olympic Games Management, The Coca-Cola Company. "We've seen a very enthusiastic response to programmes we've created to bring young people in Singapore closer to the Youth Olympic Games experience, including our school programme, which challenged 8,000 students to lead more active lives. And we've been able to reach 24,000 people who have learnt more about our long-standing support of the Olympic Movement at Celebration Sites and countless thousands who were entertained along the route of the Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame by our Happiness Bus. We look forward to continuing to refresh the people of Singapore during the YOG through the three million "perfect serves" of our products at all the venues." Acer, meanwhile, has contributed more than 2,000 PCs to the YOG, which have been deployed at all Olympic venues to ensure that the Games run smoothly. The company has also been supporting the Young Reporters and Young Ambassadors programmes by providing participants with limited edition notebooks to help them carry out their work. Acer computers are also being used in the Digital Media Centre, at the heart of the Youth Olympic Village, helping athletes stay in touch with their families around the world. As the IT systems integrator for the inaugural YOG in Singapore, Atos Origin has been responsible for designing, building and operating the entire Games IT system, with guidance from the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee's Technology Division. This includes 1,000 IT team members, 170 servers, 500 network and security devices, more than 2,000 computers and numerous Result System Terminals. GE's contributions as a Worldwide Olympic Partner consist of select products and services from GE Energy, GE Healthcare, GE Transportation, GE Infrastructure, GE Consumer & Industrial, GE Advanced Materials and GE Equipment Services. The company has worked closely with local partners on key infrastructure projects in the energy, transport, water and health sectors, utilising cutting-edge, clean and efficient technologies. As well as providing 70,000 meals for volunteers, athletes, officials and media correspondents during the Games, McDonald's has also introduced the McDonald's Young Journalists Programme to nurture young journalism talent in Singapore by providing three local teenagers with the chance to report on the YOG. "The inaugural Youth Olympic Games is a proud moment for Singapore and McDonald's," said Alex Yeo, Managing Director of McDonald's Singapore. "We have a long-term commitment to the Olympic Games, and as an Olympic Partner of the Youth Olympic Games, we not only support active lifestyles but also promote youth causes. We are proud that McDonald's Young Journalists Programme gives young people in Singapore an opportunity to nurture their interest in journalism - and to bring the action of the Youth Olympic Games to everyone from the perspective of young people." As the Official Timekeeper of Singapore 2010, Omega is responsible for the timing of all 201 events in 26 different sports at 18 competition venues. It is supplying approximately 82 tons of state-of-the-art timekeeping equipment, including 95 public and sport-specific scoreboards, 100km of cables and optical fibre and 30 TV graphic generators, as well as 500 professional timekeepers, data handlers and volunteers. The company also installed a Countdown Clock on the city's popular Orchard Road and opened the "Great Olympic Moments in Time" exhibition, commemorating Omega's longstanding involvement with the Olympic Games. As well as providing Singapore 2010 with a variety of audio-visual equipment to help share the excitement of the YOG with Olympic fans around the world, Panasonic is the Presenting Partner of the Youth Olympics Games environmental programme, teaming up with the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee to promote an environmentally friendly YOG. Procter & Gamble, which joined the TOP Programme in July as the official Worldwide Olympic Partner in personal care and household products, has also been enjoying its first Olympic experience in Singapore. "P&G is honoured to be part of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games," said Marc Pritchard, P&G Global Marketing and Brand Building Officer. "It is inspiring to see the young athletes on a world stage striving for their dreams, and to see the moms and families helping make those dreams come true. From all of P&G's 127,000 employees around the world, we celebrate the success of the first Youth Olympic Games and congratulate the spectacular athletes and their moms and families." In addition to being the International Presenting Partner of the Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame, Samsung appointed Asian pop star JJ Lin to act as its Youth Ambassador for the YOG, and introduced the Samsung Mobile Explorer programme, which offered 10 active and talented young people from Singapore, China and Korea the chance to report on the Games and share their experiences with the world. Samsung has also provided approximately 5,500 smart phones to athletes and team officials, each of which features the Digital Concierge application that enables users to obtain Singapore 2010-related information wherever they are. "As a Worldwide Partner, Samsung has a firm commitment to the Olympic Games," said Mr Gyehyun Kwon, Head of Worldwide Sports Marketing at Samsung. "In particular, by giving our full support to the inaugural Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), we seek to connect youth and sport around the world in the pursuit of achievement." Visa is the official payment service and the only card accepted at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games. Highlights of its programmes for the inaugural YOG include a specially designed series of innovative Visa prepaid cards that mark the first time Visa has brought payment, event ticketing, and transit functionality onto a single card for an Olympic Games. The company's Go World promotional campaign has also been adapted for the YOG, featuring three Singaporean athletes who will be participating in the Games. "We are pleased to be involved in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games and we're happy with how they've gone to date," explained Antonio Lucio, Chief Marketing Officer of Visa Inc. "There's been some excellent competition and it is great to see the stars of tomorrow in action - today. From our perspective, we're pleased with the way our promotional activities around Singapore have been received. Likewise, we're delighted with the response to the introduction of our special prepaid cards, which also double as the ticket for the Opening or Closing Ceremonies and for transport to and from the venue." TNS AmbRan 100824-mt93-2967780 61MarlizTagarum (c) 2010 Targeted News Service |