LVMH just became a premium sponsor of the 2024 Paris Olympics – but Antoine Arnault, son of billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault, says the company ‘didn’t want to just be a financial partner’

Jul 25 , 2023

Bernard Arnault, billionaire and chairman of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, during a company news conference in Paris, France, on July 24. Photo: Bloomberg

The world’s biggest luxury group allowed Olympic Games organisers to practically reach their funding target of US$1.37 billion, with the news announced at a conference in Paris, France

Louis Vuitton’s parent company joins other domestic sponsors including Orange, Carrefour and Sanofi, with one year to go until the Games’ opening ceremony

French luxury brand LVMH announced on Monday it will be a “premium sponsor” of the 2024 Paris Olympics, allowing the organisers to practically reach their sponsorship target of 1.24 billion euros (US$1.37 billion).

The world’s biggest luxury group, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, officially announced a sponsorship deal on July 24 with the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, joining the ranks of top-tier French sponsors such as banking group BPCE, pharmaceutical maker Sanofi and supermarket operator Carrefour. Photo: AP Photo

LVMH becomes the sixth top-tier domestic sponsor alongside communications company Orange, electricity provider EDF, banking group BPCE, pharmaceuticals company Sanofi and retail giant Carrefour.

French government and Olympics officials pose for a group photo with CEO of LVMH holding company Antoine Arnault (far left) and LVMH head Bernard Arnault (third left) during a meeting after LVMH was named as final premium sponsor of 2024 Paris Olympics, in Paris, on July 24. Photo: AFP

“I have the honour of officially announcing that we are now committed to being a premium partner for the 2024 Paris Olympics,” Antoine Arnault, one of the five children and heirs of LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, said.

Antoine Arnault, vice-chairman of Christian Dior SE, during an LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE news conference in Paris, France, on Monday, July 24, 2023. LVMH agreed to become a premium sponsor of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in the first deal of its kind for the luxury conglomerate headed by billionaire Bernard Arnault. Photo: Benjamin Girette/Bloomberg

He made the announcement at a news conference in Paris attended by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, Paris 2024 chief organiser Tony Estanguet, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and France’s sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera.

With Wednesday marking one year to go until the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, the late completion of the deal with the world’s biggest luxury group created great interest in France.

LVMH and Paris 2024 logos displayed during an LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE news conference in Paris, France, on July 24, 2023. Photo: Bloomberg

“There were many wild theories about the reasons why it took so long,” Antoine Arnault told AFP.