London raises Olympic sponsorship target as UPS delivers deal

London: London 2012 Olympic organisers are set to defy the economic downturn and raise their sponsorship target to 700 million pounds (USD 1.13 billion), but the extra cash will not be used to cut the cost of tickets.

The London organising committee (LOCOG), which unveiled its 22nd sponsor on Wednesday, American delivery company UPS, said it expects its current target of 650 million pounds to rise as businesses become more excited the nearer the Games get.UPS warned London motorists, used to traffic-clogged streets, that sacrifices would have to be made to help the smooth delivery of items, ranging from athletes` kit to tons of broadcasting equipment. The tier 2 sponsorship deal, worth about 20 million pounds, boosts Locog`s current total to about 550 million pounds. "I have always from the beginning talked about 600 to 700 million pounds, the midpoint is 650. The success of the programme so far has encouraged us to shift to the right hand of the range," said LOCOG Chief Executive Paul Deighton. The bulk of the remaining sponsorship will come from tier 2 and tier 3 deals, worth between 20 and 10 million pounds each. Deighton last year said he feared the global recession could hamper Locog`s ability to secure sponsorship. In July LOCOG was forced to move quickly to sign up Cisco as its official network infrastructure partner after its original partner Nortel Networks, the Canadian telecoms firm, filed for bankruptcy protection.But Deighton said he was confident of securing the extra sponsors. "From the perspective of the overall economic environment people are... planning for recovery now rather than managing through the worst of it," he said. "But frankly, the momentum of our sponsorship programme and the excitement as we get closer to the Games is probably a stronger positive pull than the general economic background." Deighton predicted there would be no problem with British confectioner Cadbury, continuing to be a tier 2 partner, if it is taken over by North American confectionery group Kraft Foods. The remainder of LOCOG`s 2 billion pound budget will come from International Olympic Committee (IOC) global sponsorship deals, broadcasting rights, tickets and merchandising. Deighton said it was unlikely the anticipated extra income would result in cheaper tickets. "Our intention already was to make sure we have a very significant number of highly affordable tickets and we are already at that point so that probably would not be my first choice, I think there are other things to spend the money on," he said. UPS, which has been involved in previous Games, including Beijing 2008, said dealing with London`s transport network would be a challenge. Daniel Brutto, UPS international president, said: "You cannot have a regular London business traffic day, and think you are going to deliver the Games as business as usual. That is not going to physically be able to happen." Bureau Report