Rio 2016 Olympics Sets Record Sponsorship Goal

The 2016 Rio Olympics have set an ambitious goal of securing $1.5 billion in sponsorship which would be a new record for Olympics, according to the Associated Press.

Rio Olympics Chief Commercial Officer Renato Ciuchini said his goal is to generate between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion in domestic sponsor deals.

AP reported that Rio has raised $650 million in sponsor money so far. Organisers for the London Olympics raised a record $1.1 billion.

“I may have this calm face but there is a lot of pressure here,” Ciuchini told AP. “There is no question about it. Our target is very high.”

Some potential Olympics sponsors are waiting to see how deals perform at the Brazil 2014 World Cup, which took in about $1.6 billion.

Ciuchini also hoped the new value would limit the amount needed for government aid. Protests broke out five months ago during the Confederations Cup, the warm-up for next year’s World Cup, about the country spending $15 billion on the World Cup and a similar amount on the Olympics instead of Brazil’s poor infrastructure.

“Even at this level ($1.5 billion) we cannot guarantee,” he said. “We are working with all the variables of the budget to make sure that we have no need for public money.”

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