Should Dow Chemicals of Bhopal Gas tragedy fame be sponsor in 2012 Olympics?
London: according to latest reports from the UK press, the organising committee of the London Olympic Games is facing some very serious questions about the choice of its sponsors. Questions are being raised as to why it allowed the controversial Dow Chemicals company, responsible for Bhopal gas tragedy, as a sponsor of the 2012 stadium in London. Dow is the 100 percent owner of Union Carbide Corporation (C), the company that was responsible for the 1984 gas disaster in Bhopal that killed nearly 25,000 people. Dow was clearly hoping that public memory will prove short and in its new incarnation it might escape the attention of the media. Dow’s contract gives it “exclusive marketing rights” to the main stadium in east London. Its name will be adorned on the “wrap” around the stadium, guaranteeing the company a prominent profile next year.
Dow has been named as the sponsor of the seven million pounds fabric curtain that is to encircle the Olympic Stadium. According to the Independent, the shadow Olympics minister, Tessa Jowell, and the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Keith Vaz, held private talks with Lord Coe, who was asked to justify the deal with the Dow Chemical Company. Lord Coe is the chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. Dow officials would be invited to attend further talks next week as Lord Coe failed to satisfy MPs that Dow does meet London 2012′s ethical code, the report said.
Keith Vaz has demanded that Dow must withdraw from sponsorship until the issues in Bhopal get resolved. “The best course of action is for Dow to withdraw until the issues in Bhopal have been resolved, but I am happy to hear what they have to say,” Vaz said. “This is not the right kind of sponsorship for the world’s greenest Olympics,” he added. Barry Gardiner MP, chair of Labour Friends of India, urged the organizing committee to think again over the decision in order to protect the reputation of the Olympic legacy for Britain.
The $1bn-plus in market opportunity Dow sees from the Olympics partnership in the form of selling materials into Olympic venues may be just the bonus. The real opportunity is for Dow to associate itself with one of the most recognizable symbols in the world and gain respectability.
[courtesy: The Independent, UK]