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The Supplier Recognition Scheme is the first of its kind in Olympic history and will enable suppliers to talk more openly about their involvement in the Games.
On receipt of the free licence, eligible suppliers will be able to promote their work at trade shows both in the UK and internationally, apply for industry awards for their London 2012 work and use their involvement in pitches and tender documentation when competing for international contracts. Additionally, the licence will give businesses exclusive access to an ODA image library of more than 4,000 free photographs from the Games. To view the complete set of recognition rights available to eligible suppliers take a look at the Schedule of Recognition Rights.
These are the legal restrictions placed on LOCOG and ODA suppliers as well as their contractors and sub-contractors. The restrictions prevent businesses who provided goods and services from claiming an association with the London 2012 Games and Games bodies such as the IOC, BOA, Team GB, BPA and ParalympicsGB.
The restrictions were required to protect the value of investment made by worldwide Olympic and London 2012 sponsors and importantly enabled them to deliver a high-quality Games. Under the restrictions, only official sponsors of London 2012 could use any Games related marks or promote themselves as associated with the Games.
Games suppliers with “No Marketing Rights” clauses in their supply contracts/agreements are restricted from talking about or marketing their involvement with the Games. It is these contractual clauses that the Supplier Recognition Scheme licence specifically relaxes.
The restrictions were designed to protect the value of the investment made by worldwide Olympic sponsors and London 2012 sponsors. Protecting these relationships ensured the IOC and LOCOG could meet the substantial costs of hosting and delivering a high-quality Games. Put simply, if sponsors investment was not protected there would be no Olympic Games.
Under “No Marketing Rights” suppliers were and continue to be allowed to make simple factual statements about the work they undertook but were prevented from using their work on the Games to promote themselves. This has limited the ways in which businesses can use their London 2012 experience in order to generate new contracts and business opportunities.
The Supplier Recognition Scheme is the first of its kind in Olympic history and will enable suppliers to talk more openly about their involvement in the Games. The Scheme has been designed to enable eligible businesses to use their experience of the Games to win new business both at home and overseas.
The Supplier Recognition Scheme is the first of its kind in Olympic history and will enable suppliers to talk more widely about their involvement in the Games whilst also protecting the rights of official sponsors to the Games.
Suppliers who are granted a licence will be given a specific designation as a supplier to the London 2012 Games which sets out the specific good or service provided. Eligible suppliers will be able to use this designation along with details of the goods or services supplied on their website and in business to business communications including in overseas markets. For more information on the benefits, take a look at the Schedule of Recognition Rights, covered by the Scheme.
The contractual restrictions continue indefinitely. Even when LOCOG and the ODA no longer exist, enforcement of the restrictions will continue by the IOC, BOA and BPA in the UK.
Enforcement continues in order to protect the rights of the worldwide Olympic sponsors whose involvement in the Games continues beyond London 2012. Without their support and participation, there would be no Games and consequently there would be no opportunities for businesses to be associated with them.
London 2012 sponsors still had exclusive rights until 31 December 2012. This prevented the Scheme from launching until the start of 2013.
It will run until 31 December 2015.
Yes, the IOC does support this BOA and Government initiative and has approved the licence that the BOA will issue to eligible suppliers.
The BOA are running the Scheme.
The BOA has extensive experience in licencing companies and will be aiming to process all licence applications within a maximum of 3-4 weeks of receiving the necessary information.
We contacted all LOCOG and ODA Tier 1 suppliers in writing following the public launch of the Scheme. The Scheme continues to be regularly promoted in various business media and forums as well as through trade associations.
If you are interested in promoting the Scheme please contact us on admin@srs2012.com.
To qualify your business should answer yes to each of the following:
✔ We are a UK business (i.e. the business is registered in the UK or operates only in the UK)
✔ We supplied the ODA, LOCOG or one of their subcontractors
✔ We provided goods/services pre 31st December 2012
✔ Our supply agreements to deliver goods and services included “No Marketing Rights” clauses
Please note, the Supplier Recognition Scheme licence is granted at the discretion of the BOA and certain business categories are excluded to protect the rights of IOC TOP sponsors and future Games funding.
If you are unsure whether your business is eligible please email admin@srs2012.com.
British businesses who delivered goods and services to the Games can apply to the BOA for a Scheme licence. The following UK businesses are eligible to apply:
The business should have been subject to supply agreements which included “No Marketing Rights” clauses as it is these clauses which the licence specifically relaxes.
Please note, the licence is granted at the discretion of the BOA and certain business categories are excluded to protect the rights of IOC TOP sponsors and future Games funding.
The Scheme excludes suppliers to Olympic sponsors, National Olympic Committees and National Paralympic Committees, unless they can also demonstrate a contractual link to the ODA/LOCOG.
If you are unsure whether your business is eligible please email admin@srs2012.com.
All businesses who delivered goods or services to LOCOG or the ODA can apply to the BOA for a Scheme licence. The Scheme also covers those sub-contractors who delivered goods or services to a LOCOG or ODA supplier.
To qualify for the Scheme, the business must have signed supply agreements which include “No Marketing Rights” clauses.
Yes, you will be treated as being in the ODA supply chain and will qualify for a Scheme licence if you meet the other eligibility criteria.
Businesses within certain categories are excluded to protect the rights of worldwide Olympic sponsors and ensure the integrity of future Games funding.
The Scheme also excludes:
Please note, the Scheme is only open to companies registered in the UK.
Businesses within the following categories are excluded to ensure the rights of worldwide Olympic sponsors are not infringed. These sponsors have exclusive worldwide marketing rights (including in the UK) and are vital in ensuring the future of the Games.
These categories will be applied without exception.
If you are unsure whether your business is eligible or would like further information on the excluded categories please email admin@srs2012.com.
The worldwide or Olympic TOP sponsor programme is the highest level of Olympic sponsorship, granting exclusive worldwide marketing rights to both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games within certain product categories. These rights relate to London 2012 and beyond. These sponsors are also vital in supporting National Olympic teams, like Team GB, around the globe.
The TOP programme attracts some of the best-known multinational companies in the world and generates revenues that are distributed globally throughout the Olympic Movement. Businesses that operate within TOP sponsor categories are excluded from the Scheme to protect Olympic funding and ultimately the viability of future Games. This means that some business sectors will be excluded from the Scheme.
Those companies who are excluded on this basis are encouraged to contact admin@srs2012.com for further advise on what they are permitted to within the “No Marketing Rights” framework.
The Supplier Recognition Scheme specifically relaxes the “No Marketing Rights” clauses included within suppliers contracts and other agreements. If you were not subject to these contractual restrictions, the licence does not apply as there are no clauses to vary.
Please seek further advice from your internal legal team or email admin@srs2012.com.
These are Coca Cola, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonalds, Omega, Panasonic, P&G, Samsung and Visa.
The vast majority of contractors who supplied goods and services to LOCOG and the ODA or in their supply chains are covered by the Scheme. Whilst contractors to overseas Governments, National Olympic Committees and National Paralympic Committees (for example the NOC or NPC Houses), local authorities (for example events related to the Torch Relay) or to public agencies supported the wider celebrations in 2012, they were not directly related to the delivery of the London 2012 Games.
Both the company group and subsidiary company can apply for separate licences if they can demonstrate they supplied separate goods or services to the London 2012 Games. They must also have signed distinct supply agreements for the provision of the good/service which includes the “No Marketing Rights” clauses. The company group and subsidiary company will each be required to complete separate applications and provide different documentation to evidence each distinct supply. This evidence must include the company or subsidiary name as appropriate.
Multiple licenses will only be granted in exceptional circumstances and are at the discretion of the BOA.
The Supplier Recognition Scheme is designed to give recognition to those suppliers who provided goods and services to LOCOG or the ODA either directly or to one of their suppliers. The Scheme excludes suppliers to official Olympic sponsors unless the business can demonstrate a contractual link with the ODA or LOCOG.
For a list of the official sponsors of the London 2012 Games please contact admin@srs2012.com.
The contractual restrictions will continue to apply in their entirety to suppliers who opt not to apply for a licence or are not granted a licence. These suppliers can continue to make factual statements about their role on the Games and are advised to contact admin@srs2012.com for further advise on what is permitted.
If you are a supplier to LOCOG, the ODA or one of their subcontractors and are a UK based business you are still eligible to apply.
If your business has a Partnership number, please include this in the Companies House registration number field.
If you are applying as a sole trader or as a Partnership that does not have a Partnership number please state “not applicable” in the Companies House registration number field in Section 1. You will additionally need to provide evidence confirming that you are registered with HMRC. This should be a letter or other communication from HMRC that verifies your address and status as a sole trader or Partnership. Please upload this to Section 6 of your application
Yes, the Scheme covers both sole traders and registered companies as long as they are UK based and registered with HMRC. If you are applying as a sole trader, you will need to provide evidence confirming that you are registered with HMRC. This should be a letter or other communication from HMRC that verifies your address and status as a sole trader.
On receipt of the free licence, suppliers will receive a specific London 2012 designation (e.g. “Supplier of architectural services (Velodrome) to the London 2012 Games”) and will be able to promote their work at trade shows both in the UK and internationally, apply for industry awards for their London 2012 work and use their involvement in pitches and tender documentation when competing for international contracts. Additionally, the licence will give businesses exclusive access to a free ODA image library of more than 4,000 photographs from the construction of the Olympic Park and other outlying venues, examples of which are featured on this site.
To view the complete set of recognition rights available to eligible suppliers please read the Schedule of Recognition Rights.
Businesses who are granted a licence will be given a specific Games designation which explains the type of supply they provided to the Games – “Supplier of [insert relevant goods or services] to the London 2012 Games.” This designation can be used up to 31st December 2015 in business to business communications including at trade shows, in pitch documents and tenders. For more information on how the designation can be used please read the Schedule of Recognition Rights.
Examples of acceptable and unacceptable designations are included below. As a guide you should expect your designation to include both the specific good or service you provided and the venue or category this relates to.
Acceptable:
✔ “Supplier of grandstand seating (Eton Dorney) to the London 2012 Games”
✔ “Supplier of architectural services (Velodrome) to the London 2012 Games”
Unacceptable:
✘ “Supplier of seating to the London 2012 Games”
✘ “Supplier of architectural services, Olympic Park, to the London 2012 Games”
Yes you can. Businesses that join the Scheme get access to the ODA image library of more than 4,000 photographs from the Games. These images are available for free and examples are used on this site. The library contains photographs taken for the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) of the construction of the London 2012 Olympic Park, as well as the new Lee Valley White Water Centre and work at existing venues like Weymouth and Portland and Eton Dorney.
Access to the library will be provided to you one week following the granting of your licence and all terms of usage will be detailed at this point.
No. Games logos, protected marks and fonts are exclusively licensed for use by Games bodies and Olympic Sponsors. These are exclusive marketing rights that official Olympic Sponsors have been granted in return for their significant investment in the Games.
The Scheme will be a very useful and a welcome boost to eligible suppliers. The value of the new rules will vary from business to business and will depend to a large extent on how companies use the new recognition rights. Businesses looking to promote themselves in overseas markets should expect to benefit most.
We believe the UK stands to gain significantly from the new arrangement which will enable up to 2,200 ODA and LOCOG suppliers and up to 50,000 sub-contractors to promote their work on the London 2012 Games in a lawful and transparent way.
The new Scheme is intended to assist UK businesses involved in the Games in winning new contracts both in the UK and overseas, thus supporting the Government’s ambition to achieve significant economic benefits from the Games.
Paid for advertising is not permitted under the Scheme because it undermines the exclusive worldwide marketing rights that official Olympic sponsors have been granted in return for their significant investment in the Games.
Normally suppliers will have a single designation which encompasses all the goods and services supplied in respect of the Games. The BOA may in wholly exceptional circumstances (and at their discretion) agree to grant a second licence for a very different supply provided at a different stage of the 2012 Games.
Until we have carried out the full process of verification, we are unable to grant applicants any rights. This means that until a licence is granted, the no marketing restrictions continue to apply in full force and effect.
Given the large number of suppliers in a similar position, we are unfortunately are unable to prioritise specific applications. All applications will be processed within a maximum of three to four weeks.
All users should receive their password instantaneously and you may find this has been sent through to your junk/spam folder. If this is not the case, you can reset your password at www.srs2012.com/auth/forgot_password.
If you have not received a password within 15 minutes of registering, contact admin@srs2012.com.
All applications must be completed online at www.srs2012.com. Once you have registered as a new user, you’ll be provided with step by step advice on completing the application.
The online application process at www.srs2012.com has been designed to be user friendly and capture information quickly. It is estimated the form should take between 15 -30 minutes to complete and applicants can download all the questions in advance.
The Scheme is supported by a team at the BOA who can help suppliers with any queries at admin@srs2012.com.
The Supplier Recognition Scheme is run by the British Olympic Association (BOA) who has responsibility for the Olympic brand in the UK. In order to protect the value of the Supplier Recognition Scheme licence and ensure only those who made a valid contribution to the success of the Games are recognised, the BOA are required to carry out a number of eligibility and background checks on every application received. Care has been taken to minimise the amount of information suppliers are required to provide whilst also ensuring there is adequate information to enable the BOA to verify each application.
You will be asked to provide general information about your business and your Games-related supply of goods or services. The application will also require you to upload evidence of your Games supply (for example an invoice, contract or letter confirming your supply). Finally, your application will need to be signed off by an authorized company signatory (e.g. Chief Executive, Finance Director).
All applications should be will be processed as quickly as possible and within a maximum of 3-4 weeks of receiving all the necessary information. Each application is subject to a number of checks and in some instances it will be necessary for us to request additional information.
Approximations are fine. This information will help the Government identify your company size, for example whether you are an SME, and will enable them to promote your business both in the UK and abroad.
CompeteFor is a service that enables businesses to compete for contract opportunities linked to major public and private sector buying organisations: https://www.competefor.com CompeteFor was used by LOCOG for certain contracts in connection with the London 2012 Games.
Examples of acceptable and unacceptable designations are included below. As a guide you should expect your designation to include both the specific good or service you provided and the venue or category this relates to.
Acceptable:
✔ “Supplier of grandstand seating (Eton Dorney) to the London 2012 Games”
✔ “Supplier of architectural services (Velodrome) to the London 2012 Games”
Unacceptable:
✘ “Supplier of seating to the London 2012 Games”
✘ “Supplier of architectural services, Olympic Park, to the London 2012 Games”
For more information on how you can use your designation please read the Schedule of Recognition Rights.
Most London 2012 suppliers do not receive financial support in the form of State Aid. If this is the case, you should tick the No box. Contracts with the ODA or LOCOG and through related supply chains are commercial undertakings and are not State Aid.
If your company does receive financial support which is State Aid, and this exceeds the de minimis limit (the usual limit is €200,000 in the past three years), your business will not qualify for a licence.
If you are unsure, you may need to speak to your finance team or your in-house legal advisers who should be able to confirm whether or not your firm has received State Aid. If having spoken to them you are still unsure, please contact DCMS with details of your query.
DCMS regards the Supplier Recognition Scheme Licence as being State Aid as the licence is issued free-of-charge by the BOA, who are being funded by DCMS to run the Scheme. DCMS estimates the value of the State Aid provided through the Supplier Recognition Scheme to be £5,000 - the average amount DCMS estimates that London 2012 suppliers would be willing to pay in order to acquire the licence. As such, the grant of the licence is regarded as a small amount of financial support under State Aid rules. The de minimis rules generally allow Aid with a value of less than €200,000 to any business over any rolling three year period to be ignored but the rules are complicated and firms getting any State Aid will need to seek advice from DCMS before completing their application.
Please note, the value of the licence may affect other State Aid that you are able to receive and you will need to notify the relevant public body if there is to be an offer of State Aid. DCMS may direct the BOA to cancel licences in cases where the State Aid above the de minimis limit has been paid but not declared. More general information on State Aid is available.
We require evidence to be submitted in support of the application so that we are able to verify the supply of goods or services made. Acceptable evidence should include details of the contracting parties and the supply of goods or services made.
Acceptable forms of evidence include an invoice, contract (or the relevant part thereof) or letter from the organisation that your company supplied (if a sub-contractor).
Businesses are asked to submit one application which covers all of their supplies to London 2012 Games. If your business made more than one supply please provide summary details of all the goods and services you supplied including, where relevant, the names of all the companies who you supplied. You will also need to ensure you upload evidence for each separate supply.
If there is not sufficient space to include details of all your supplies within Section 3 “Details of Goods/Services provided” please provide a summary of this information (in word format) in the section “Uploaded Materials.”
The British Olympic Association are running the Scheme. For all questions related to an application please email admin@srs2012.com or leave a message at 0203 675 1470. All emails and calls will be actioned within two working days, but at peak times it may be longer.
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If you still experience problems, please email admin@srs2012.com.
BIS – Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
BOA – British Olympic Association
BPA – British Paralympic Association
DCMS – Department for Culture, Media & Sport
FCO – British Foreign & Commonwealth Office
IOC – International Olympic Committee
IOC TOP sponsors – The Olympic Partner (TOP) programme is the highest level of Olympic sponsorship and provides sponsors with exclusive worldwide marketing rights to the Summer, Winter and Youth Olympic Games
LOCOG – London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games
ODA – Olympic Delivery Authority
UKTI – UK Trade & Investment