IOC faces ire from sponsors

Under the contract, the IOC will receive the revenue, underwritten by the government of New South Wales, whether or not the games are profitable.

The Sydney Games is facing a shortfall in sponsorship revenue, and needs to find an extra 130 million dollars in sponsorship funds to reach its target.

Thomson, a member of Australia’s conservative government, said the IOC should be held responsible for any loss of revenue to Sydney caused by the bribery scandal. Thomson has been a strong critic of the IOC since the bribery scandal broke, and today called for the committee tobe disbanded and a new organization formed.

“The IOC’s time has passed,” he said. “We need a new organisation for a new century to organise the Games. Their culture is very sick and we need some sort of renewal.”

A major corporate sponsor of the Sydney 2000 Games, car maker GM-Holden, said today it was concerned about the impact of the IOC corruption crisis on its sponsorship investment.

Holden public affairs manager John Morrison told ABC radio: “it’s difficult for a sponsor in the current environment to maximise its associations with the Games for as long as these revelations keep coming to the surface.”

Asked if Holden might pull out of its Olympic deal, Morrison said: “Well I don’t want to suggest that, but obviously as with any contract we’ve got rights to review our commitments depending on what’s going on around us.”

Holden has Olympic commitments running into tens of millions of dollars.

Some of the IOC’s worldwide sponsors have spoken out strongly against the corruption scandaland its effect on their investment in the Olympics — especially the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co, which yesterday said it would not commit to buying TV advertising time during the Sydney Games until it was sure the IOC had cleaned up its act.