Olympics-IOC has no plans for track-side adverts

PARIS, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Leading sponsors will not be

allowed to advertise their brands at Olympic venues as they

could when the sites were used for the Paralympics, a senior

International Olympic Committee (IOC) figure said on Tuesday.

Advertising rules were more relaxed for the Paralympics

which ended in London on Sunday, an event which proved more

popular than ever with television audiences and sponsors.

IOC Director General Christophe de Kepper said the 11 global

sponsors of the Olympics were happy with the "clean venue"

policy which means there are no company logos around the edges

of the track or poolside.

"They are all adamant that this is part of the uniqueness of

the Olympic Games and so there is no discussion for the moment

at the IOC of reviewing that policy," De Kepper told reporters.

The leading sponsors pay nearly $1 billion for a four-year

deal to market themselves on the back of the Games.

Although sponsors such as Coca-Cola and McDonald's do not

get to display their name at the stadium, they can use the

five-ring Olympic symbol in their advertising.

Sponsors also use ticket promotions to ensure customer and

staff loyalty and many use the Games as a calling card to

showcase their technical abilities.

De Kepper was speaking at a Sport Integrity Symposium at the

prestigious Sorbonne University in Paris.

The conference, organised by the Sorbonne and the

Qatar-based International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), has

brought together figures from the worlds of sport, government

and law enforcement to discuss measures to clean up sport and in

particular to curb match-fixing.

Former Juventus player Alessandro del Piero was named to

head a panel of 11 athletes helping to educate youngsters about

the risks of getting dragged into manipulating results, an

initiative led by the Qatar Olympic Committee and ICSS.

"It's with pride that I take on the role of captain of this

group," Del Piero told the opening session of the conference.

"We will play to win, as I have always done in my career,"

added the Italian, who is on his way to Australia to join

Sydney FC after 19 years with the Turin club.

ICSS President Mohammed Hanzab said Del Piero's loyalty and

integrity made him the ideal ambassador for the campaign.

Del Piero stayed with Juventus after they were relegated to

Italy's Serie B in 2006 as a punishment for their part in a

match-fixing scandal.

The ICSS, a non-profit organisation, said it planned to

develop an index that would measure the ability of countries to

deliver secure and clean events.

The findings would be made public to help international

sporting federations decide on locations for major events.

(Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Pritha Sarkar, 44 20 7542

8022,)