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Outrage as Coca-Cola gets £1.75m deal to Sponsor Venice
Outrage as Coca-Cola gets £1.75m deal to
sponsor Venice... And install dozens of vending machines in the city
By Nick Pisa
Daily Mail
February 23, 2009
City officials in Venice have caused outrage by striking a £1.75million
sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola.
The plan involves dozens of Coca-Cola vending machines being placed
at strategic locations across the city, which attracts more than 20million
tourists a year.
Details of the deal were announced by the city council and immediately
caused outrage with critics saying Venice was 'selling its cultural
soul'.
Officials at the city council said they had agreed to the scheme because
they were short of funds and would use the money for restoration work.
They also said some money from the five-year deal would be diverted
into flood defence schemes following severe flooding in Venice before
Christmas, after an exceptional high tide.
However critics slammed the five-year deal, with Italian newspaper
La Stampa saying on its website that Venice had 'sold itself to Coca-Cola'.
It also demanded to know how machines would be situated at St Mark's
Square, where there is ban on open air eating and drinking unless
at a bar.
La Stampa said sarcastically that machines would add to council funds
because 'the more you drink then the more you will need to pay the
three euro charge that has been introduced for the public toilets.'
Venice Mayor Massimo Cacciari, said he was 'astounded' by the criticism
and added that it was no different from others adopted by the city
in the past.
He said:'This is a financial strategy that is simply indispensable
for safeguarding our monuments and artistic heritage and is in line
with culture ministry guidelines'.
The mayor added that the idea that Venice could be safeguarded 'by
philanthropy alone' was unrealistic.
He said:'These idealists who protest against strategies such as (the
Coca-Cola deal), which by now have been adopted in all the cities
of the world, should have the good taste to indicate an alternative,
or, even better, provide for the needs of the city from their own
pockets.'
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