The Russian Brewers’ Union agreed at an April 6 meeting to ask Russia’s parliament for permission to support sporting events by overturning amendments passed to the law on advertising that banned beer commercials at stadiums from 2004.
Vladimir Kuznetsov, a union spokesman, said the government’s efforts to bring the Olympics to Sochi could help the union’s proposal. He said should Sochi host the 2014 Winter Games, Anheuser-Busch Cos., the world’s second-largest brewer and a sponsor of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), won’t be able to advertise in Russia without overturning the amendments.
The changes were introduced to fight alcoholism in Russia. Beer commercials not only disappeared from sporting arenas, but were also prohibited from being shown on television from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and weren’t allowed to feature people or animals, reports Bloomberg.
