Fast food giant McDonald’s is ending its decades-long affiliation with the Olympic Games, as it prematurely pulls out of a deal that would have seen the fast food giant sponsor the Games till 2020.
The International Olympic in a statement stated that the decision to part ways was mutual. However, McDonald’s will still sponsor the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The fast food giant will operate restaurants in the Olympic Park and the Olympic Village as well as advertise as an Olympic sponsor in South Korea
The termination of the sponsorship will bring McDonald’s Olympic-themed advertising in the United States to an end immediately.
McDonald’s has worked with the Olympics since 1968, when it delivered hamburgers to athletes competing in the Winter Games in Grenoble, France. It became an official sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1976 and has been associated with the Games ever since.