Bridgestone on the Road to Paris: “The Olympic Games Are Such a Powerful and Inspiring Platform”
International Olympic Committee news
As the Olympic Games Paris 2024 begin, the Worldwide Olympic Partners are playing a fundamental role in making the Games a success. In our “Road to Paris” series, these Partners talk about some of the essential support they are providing and reveal their excitement at helping to shape an unforgettable Olympic experience for fans and athletes alike. Here, we speak with Thierry Jupsin, the Vice President of Brand Marketing for Bridgestone in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
How excited is Bridgestone to be part of the Olympic Games Paris 2024?
The Olympic and Paralympic Games are such powerful and inspiring platforms that unite people around the world through emotion, inclusivity and sustainability. Each of these areas is core to Bridgestone and part of our vision to create value for society as a sustainable solutions company. Through our support for Paris 2024 and the world’s greatest athletes, we are excited to celebrate these shared values with our company, our communities, and our customers.
What makes an Olympic partnership so appealing?
The Olympic Games are the biggest sporting event in the world. This means they provide a powerful platform that connects with people across all markets. The emotions of the Games also create a lot of natural opportunities for human-to-human connection and impactful storytelling about what really matters to us. We believe in the power of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to unite, excite and inspire people across all borders, abilities and backgrounds. The Olympic and Paralympic movements are working day after day to create a better world through sport and beyond the field of play. This, for us, is extremely important because it really aligns with our mission at Bridgestone to serve society and create a more sustainable world for future generations. This is where we can again create an authentic connection.
How is Bridgestone specifically supporting Paris 2024?
We are very proud to be supporting Paris 2024 athletes and operations with our products, services and solutions. We are contributing a variety of tyres, performance products and services at the Games. The company is also helping to support and enhance the experience for all athletes, staff, fans and visitors.
As the official tyre of the Games, we will be providing premium tyres and tyre-related maintenance services for more than 1,000 vehicles, and we are also supporting road safety education and tire safety awareness through an e-learning module for nearly 4,000 volunteer drivers.
Bridgestone is also helping to supply more than 600 bicycles for athletes, volunteers and staff to use across Paris 2024 venues and in the Olympic Village. After the Games, we have partnered with Ville de Paris to donate approximately 500 of the bikes locally to community organisations.
And a number of athletes competing at Paris 2024 will also help demonstrate how Bridgestone innovation and premium performance extends beyond tyres. This includes the nearly 3,500 high-performance golf balls we have provided for the tournament practice range, and the numerous adaptive athletes from the United States and Japan who will use Bridgestone rubber and equipment during competition at the Paralympic Games.
Why is working with athletes important for Bridgestone?
Bridgestone’s work with global athletes is designed to inspire people of all backgrounds and abilities to overcome adversity and chase their dreams. We partnered with 40 Olympians, Paralympians, and hopefuls to represent the brand as Team Bridgestone athlete ambassadors for Paris 2024, and they were all selected based on an alignment of values with the Bridgestone brand. We have been honoured to work with this inspiring team of athlete ambassadors who are making an impact both on and off the field, and we will be proudly cheering for them during the Games.
