Olympics 2024: sponsors need to see the benefits of social as well as commercial impact

The Olympic Games would be nothing without the thousands of athletes who gather every four years to compete at the very highest level. But nor would it be such a grand spectacle without the companies and brands which stump up the sponsorship to fund it.

Such brands have been competing commercially for more than 100 years. At the first modern games in Athens in 1896, among the companies contributing to the cost was the British travel agency Thomas Cook and Son, which was appointed “official passenger agent”.