The contribution of Coca-Cola to the Olympic Movement has always been the model of a true partnership.

- Jacques Rogge, 1.8.05

This just in from the media desk of the International Olympic Committee:

The International Olympic Committee and The Coca-Cola Company today announced a renewal of their partnership for an unprecedented 12 years, thereby taking what was already the longest sponsorship of the Olympic Games to a record 92 uninterrupted years. The partnership, which began in 1928, was extended during a signing ceremony on the Great Wall of China. The new agreement, which begins in 2009, will see Coca-Cola supporting the Olympic Movement over a period which covers the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, the London 2012 Olympic Games, plus the Olympic Games of 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020.

Welcoming the renewal of the partnership, IOC President Jacques Rogge said, "The contribution of Coca-Cola to the Olympic Movement has always been the model of a true partnership. The Olympic Games would not be where they are today, and so many athletes over the years could not have competed in the Games, without the extensive corporate support pioneered by Coca-Cola as our longest continuous sponsor. Because the Olympic Family and Coca-Cola share the values of Olympism at their deepest level, this is a natural partnership that we hold most dearly."

The Coca-Cola Chairman, Mr E. Neville Isdell, echoed the President's comments, emphasising the new atmosphere of Olympic spirit at the world's leading beverage company. "The privilege of being associated with the Olympic Movement for nearly a century is reflected in this landmark agreement," Mr Isdell said. "Our investment in the future of the Olympic Games underscores our faith in the Games and how they continue to make our world a little bit better. This long-term commitment comes at a time when those of us throughout the Coca-Cola system are rededicating ourselves to the Olympic spirit. We have recently challenged ourselves not to wait every two or four years to celebrate the Olympic ideal, but to bring to life those values in our everyday lives - to think Olympic, act Olympic, and, indeed, truly live Olympic." he added.

Also attending the announcement, which was made in China as the country marks three years to go until the Olympic Games of Beijing 2008, was Jean-Claude Killy, three times Olympic Games gold medallist and IOC member, young Chinese diver Wu Min Xia, who won a gold medal and a silver medal at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, together with a host of guests including leadership from both the Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad and the upcoming Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games.

Coca-Cola will start trading on Wall Street today at $43.77.