Records tumble in Beijing Olympic Games sponsorship race

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

BEIJING (AFP) — Six months before the Beijing Olympics start, records are already tumbling in the commercial sector thanks to the attraction and dynamism of the host nation's economy.

No previous Olympic Games has succeeded in drumming up so much anticipation in the business world and attracting so many commercial sponsorships, according to advertising insiders.

"The scale is totally different from previous Olympic Games. Everybody is waiting for TV audiences, especially in China, breaking records. We will see figures we've never seen before," said Pierre Justo, Beijing-based managing director of sports research firm TNS Sports Asia.

Not counting the long-term major partners of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), more than 50 Chinese and foreign...