Olympic Winter Games 2026: what you need to know as a brand

As with every Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee (BOIC), as ‘privately funded’ non-profit associations, will oversee the proper running of the Games, the protection of Olympic properties and the safeguarding of the interests of Olympic partners. Official sponsors, including Nationale Loterij, Belfius, Delhaize and Brussels Airport, play an important role in the preparation of Belgian athletes. In return, they receive the exclusive rights to link their brand to the Olympic Games and Team Belgium.

The Olympic properties

The IOC – holder of numerous copyrights and globally registered trademarks – is the only body authorised to license its rights to third parties. Attached is a reminder of the protection of copyright and trademark rights.

In short, only the IOC and third parties holding a licence have the exclusive right to use the Olympic properties. Any other use of the Olympic properties by third parties without permission is therefore prohibited.

“Olympic properties” includes not only the Olympic rings, but also the flag, the motto, the anthem, the identifications, the flame, any musical or audiovisual work, any creation and any object created in the context of the Olympic Games on behalf of the IOC, the National Olympic Committees or the Organising Committees.

Names and logos are also part of this: the IOC currently holds some 200 names and logos registered as trademarks, including “Milano Cortina 2026”. This means that these trademarks may only be used by the IOC and those who have been given explicit permission to do so.

Athletes’ portrait rights

In addition to the Olympic properties, account must also be taken of the use of the portrait rights of the athletes concerned.

In principle, it is therefore prohibited – without having obtained any permission from the athletes concerned – to use their portrait rights (image or name) for advertising purposes. The fact that athletes are often publicly known persons does not change this.

Even when a non-Olympic partner, such as a private sponsor, obtains permission from an athlete to use their image and/or name for commercial purposes, conditions apply in the run-up to and during the Olympic Games, the so-called “Games Period”, which runs from 30 January 2026 to 24 February 2026.

These conditions are described in detail in the well-known “Rule 40” of the Olympic Charter and the accompanying annex B “Illustrative Guidance”. Under strict conditions, it is possible for a private sponsor to use an athlete’s image and/or name, provided the athlete concerned has given permission. These conditions include:

1. No Olympic properties are used in the communication or referred to;
2. The policy and values of the Olympic Games are respected;
3. The communication is qualified as “generic advertising”.

An advertisement is considered “generic” if only the athlete’s name and/or image is used without any reference to the Olympic Games. In addition, the advertisement must already have been published and active for 90 (!) days before the start of the Olympic period and must run consistently, which means it may not be increased during the Olympic Games.

In addition, advertisers must notify the BOIC of their planned advertisements before or during the Olympic Games for campaigns aimed at Belgium (by email: rule40@olympic.be) or notify the IOC for campaigns broader than Belgium alone (via the IOC platform). These are then assessed and sometimes certain conditions can be relaxed.

Some vigilance is also advised regarding support and congratulations on social media! It is not permitted to support and congratulate athletes during the Olympic Games with a commercial association. This is only allowed before and/or after the Games, without reference to the Olympic properties.

Therefore, be sure to proceed carefully when devising and developing commercial communication campaigns during the period of the Olympic Games, and consult, at the appropriate time, the BOIC website where you can find all relevant information.

More info
• Olympic properties | Team Belgium
• Rule 40 - Milano Cortina 2026 | Team Belgium