Rebecca Manzi The Paris Olympics are sponsored by companies that contribute to global pollution: a campaign is covering billboards with messages of denunciation
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The upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics face criticism for being sponsored by companies significantly contributing to global pollution. Just two days before the opening ceremony, the organization Résistance à l’Agression Publicitaire (RAP) launched a campaign highlighting these concerns. This campaign included taking over more than 100 bus stops and numerous advertising devices in various French cities, including Paris, Lyon, Saint-Étienne, and Rennes.
RAP’s campaign aims to raise public awareness about the environmental, economic, and social damage caused by major Olympic sponsors. Activists covered advertising billboards with protest messages, using slogans such as “#NoMedalsForPolluters” and “#DropPollutingSponsors”.
Criticism of Olympic sponsors
The action seeks to expose what RAP describes as the hypocrisy of the Olympics, which claim to be “the greenest ever” while accepting funding from companies known for their negative environmental impact. Notable sponsors mentioned include Toyota, ArcelorMittal, and Air France, whose CO2 emissions are comparable to those of eight coal-fired power plants operating for an entire year.
Public space advertising and its impact
One of the main targets of the campaign is the well-known automobile company, responsible for emitting 575 million metric tons of CO2 in 2023 alone. Despite being an Olympic sponsor, these companies are among the largest global polluters.
The campaign also criticizes the growing invasion of public spaces by advertising related to the Games, highlighting how these ads negatively influence public perception and promote unsustainable consumption models.
Call for action
RAP is calling on the International Olympic Committee to stop accepting sponsorships from polluting companies and urges public authorities to ban commercial advertising related to the Olympics in public spaces. The anti-advertising campaign emphasizes the importance of a more sustainable economy and the need for policies that promote real change.
A Call for Sustainability in Sports
As the Olympics draw near, RAP’s campaign represents a protest against the use of sports sponsorship for greenwashing and a call for greater commitment to environmental protection. The challenge is to create a future where sports and sustainability can coexist without compromise.
