Occupy Wall Street adds Bahrain Grand Prix Sponors to its attack lists

REFILE-Bahrain race shows flip side of sponsorship
By Keith Weir – 23 April, 2012

LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) – Sponsors ploughing money into Formula One have been left squirming after the motor sport’s rulers ignored human rights concerns and staged a race in Bahrain watched by hundreds of millions around the globe.

Blue chip companies whose names adorn the high-speed cars distanced themselves from the event, saying they did not entertain clients at the Bahrain International Circuit and that the decision to race on Sunday was not theirs.

Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone put a positive spin on a race that drew widespread condemnation from abroad and became a focal point for anti-government protests on the Gulf island.

“You know what they say – there is no such thing as bad publicity,” said Ecclestone, the sport’s 81-year-old ringmaster who has expanded it from its European base to more lucrative but politically-charged venues in faster growing economies.

Not everyone takes such a sanguine view.

A group of British politicians warned sponsors they risked harming their brands by association with the race, held against a backdrop of protests aimed at the ruling Al Khalifa family.

“Based on what we have seen in the past, it is going to do damage to their reputations,” said Chris Avery, board chair of Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.

“It’s hard to put a monetary value on that. Each of them has to decide whether this association with Formula One is worth the damage it is doing,” added Avery, whose organisation encourages companies to respect human rights. …more