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Dutch athlete Marit Bouwmeester celebrates her gold at Holland Heineken House's nightly medal ceremony.
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Anheuser-Busch InBev brand Skol is ubiquitous at Rio 2016 thanks to its official Games sponsorship, placing bright yellow beer stands in every venue and its collectible plastic cups in fans’ hands across the city.
But Heineken is again going for impact over breadth at the Olympics with its 100,000-square-foot, music-and-party filled Holland Heineken House on the banks of the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon in Rio.
After several friends insisted, I finally stopped by the sprawling, rocking party house on Wednesday to take in the scene. The Heineken plan of creating a joint venture to operate the Netherlands’ National Olympic Committee house is an old one, dating back to Barcelona ’92, but it’s become a juggernaut due to its open-door policy to anyone ready to pay R$162 ($51) for a pass.
My timing was excellent. The bright orange-clad, blonde hordes were in especially good spirits after the Dutch team won three Gold Medals that day, setting the stage for repeats of their loud, highly produced nightly medal ceremonies.
Hans Erik Tuijt, Heineken director of global sponsorships, said the house took on extra importance this year in Rio, where the spread out Olympic footprint put a premium on central gathering points.
“I don’t think I’ve seen an Olympics where the venues are so far apart, and you need to think about a location for everyone to really reach you,” Tuijt said. “It’s great to have a house, but if nobody’s there, it’s sad. We did quite a bit of searching for the best location.”
The house is in the Lagoa neighborhood, near the rowing venue, a major Team USA training facility and not too far from USA House on Ipanema Beach. It’s about halfway between Copacabana and the suburban Barra Olympic Park. Inside, its features include an open pool deck beneath a 50-foot TV screen showing the Games at all times, a second-floor balcony overlooking the deck, a dance club/live music venue, an upscale restaurant, outdoor food stands and the invite-only space for Dutch Olympians, officials and family.
The brand mostly relies on word of mouth from satisfied late-night party animals. The house averages nearly 4,000 visitors a day. “Since 1992, there are many fans that travel to multiple Olympics, and they know the Holland Heineken House will be there,” Tuijt said.
Heineken is now discussing a renewal of its sponsorship with the Netherlands Olympic committee, which expires this year.
