McDonald’s makes 2012 Olympics pledge to create the biggest and busiest Big Mac diner

Fast-food firm plans to break its record and build the world’s largest McDonald’s at the Games site in Stratford, east London It might not quite have been what Pierre de Coubertin had in mind when he coined the “faster, higher, stronger” motto of the modern Olympics. But the world’s largest fast-food chain is using the Games in London next year as a pretext to break its own records; it has announced plans to open the world’s biggest, and busiest, McDonald’s restaurant on the Stratford site. Metres from where famous athletes will strain every sinew to win their medals, up to 1,500 people will be able to dine in the biggest McDonald’s yet built. The two-storey, 3,000 sq-metre, diner will be one of four McDonald’s restaurants built in and near the Olympics park in east London. There will be two public eateries, one in the athlete’s village, one in the media centre. The firm insists there is no discrepancy between the Games’ ideals and its plans to serve 1.75m of its meals during the 29 days of the Olympics and Paralympics. The food chain’s UK chief executive, Jill McDonald, said: “To be involved in the greatest sporting event on earth is hugely exciting … We want everyone who visits our Olympics park restaurants to have the best possible customer experience, and are confident that the look and feel of these cutting-edge designs will provide that environment.” McDonald’s is a long-standing sponsor of the Olympics and the World Cup, with its exclusive deals ensuring it is the only branded restaurant on site. But its presence is bound to attract protests from those who feel the Games should not be so closely associated with potentially unhealthy food brands. The London organising committee will say that it relies on its own domestic sponsors, who have raised £700m, and the International Olympic Committee’s 11 backers, to find two-thirds of its £2bn Games budget. The organisers promise a wide range of food available at the Olympics park, including from local suppliers. But it will all have to be unbranded, with only official sponsors afforded the right to have their names on the food they sell. McDonald’s is expected to use the Games to try to highlight its “corporate social responsibility”. It has been involved in the recruitment of 70,000 Games volunteers and has pledged re-use of the furniture, refrigeration plants and other equipment in its other UK restaurants after the Olympics. McDonald’s Food & drink industry Olympic Games 2012 Owen Gibson guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 20, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.