Organizers for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics "signed four new sponsorship agreements and are in final negotiations with another 10 companies," according to Tariq Panja of BLOOMBERG. Rio Olympics CCO Renato Ciuchini said Rio 2016 will have reached as much as 80% of its sponsorship target "if the agreements are completed." The majority of the deals "are a mix of cash and services, or value-in-kind." Organizers have budgeted for 51% of the Olympics’ 7B reais ($3B) in operating costs "being met through partnerships." Brazil "will be the focus of world sport over the next two years." It is hosting the World Cup in three months, an event that is "currently overshadowing Rio’s planning to stage the first South American Olympics." Ciuchini said that it is "stopping many companies from marketing their association with the multisport event." Ciuchini: “We all know, and all the sponsors know, that if Messi gets the flu that’s the front page of all the papers. So why do we need to get into this battle, spend money, effort and energy when we know this is not an area the press is focused on right now?” Ciuchini "didn’t identify the other actual or potential sponsors," saying that an announcement "will be made in the coming weeks" (BLOOMBERG, 3/17).
