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 | Visa has been a worldwide sponsor and partner of the world’s number one sporting event, the Olympic Games, since 1986. Visa was the official payment service of the last 12 Olympic Games – Calgary, Seoul, Albertville, Barcelona, Lillehammer, Atlanta, Nagano, Sydney, Salt Lake City, Athens, Torino and most recently Beijing, and has been the only card accepted at all Olympic Games venues for any official Olympic-related transactions. | | |
For each Olympic Games, Visa partners with the national bank Olympic sponsor to install a special ATM network and hundreds of point-of-sale acceptance devices at competition and non-competition venues, including the Main Press Center and the Athletes’ Village.
What’s more, through a variety of financial, athletic, and social programs, Visa directly supports Olympic athletes, teams, and fans. Over the years, the Visa sponsorship of the Olympic Games has contributed more than US$100 million directly to the advancement of athletic achievement in more than 200 National Olympic Committees from around the world—including those whose teams might otherwise not be able to participate.
In advance of the Games, the Visa Olympics of the Imagination initiative challenges children throughout the world to express in artwork their visions of the goals and ideals of the Olympic movement. Visa is also proud to be the first worldwide sponsor of the Paralympic Games, which encourages and promotes the participation of athletes with disabilities in a wide variety of sporting competitions.
Visa has made commitments to continue its sponsorship through future Olympic Games in Vancouver, 2010 and London, 2012.
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