Sponsorships: it’s all about passion These Russian partnerships help  Baltika to communicate the   company’s support of and focus  on sport, one of the company’s  social priorities, to Russian media,   government and consumers. Carlsberg has sponsored all the  European Football Championships  since 1988. In 2013, Carlsberg renewed  its partnership with UEFA and is now  official sponsor of the 2016 UEFA  European Championships and the  European Qualifiers. Football is and has been part of the  Carlsberg brand DNA for many years.  Football is the world’s most popular  sport, with billions of fans and TV  viewers all over the globe, and Carls- berg has become one of the world’s  biggest football sponsors. At the 2014 Winter Olympic Games,  Baltika was the “Official Beer Sup- plier of the XXII Olympic Winter  Games of 2014 in the City of Sochi”  in the beer category. The partnership  allowed Baltika to use its supplier  status in marketing communications  and on product packaging. CARLSBERG’S LONG-STANDING  INVOLVEMENT WITH FOOTBALL In late 2012, Carlsberg’s Russian  brewery, Baltika, and the Kontinental  Hockey League (KHL) signed a part- nership agreement for one-and-a-half  seasons. The deal granted Baltika the  right to display the KHL Champion- ship logo on its products and use the  titles “Official beer of the KHL” and  “Official Supplier to the KHL”.  To fully leverage our sponsorships, our  markets actively promote and adver- tise both global and local sponsorships  in the media, via outlets, at events etc. Ultimately, sponsorships are about  growing our business and driving the  long-term sales of our beer brands.  They are an effective way of com- municating with consumers as they  make brands directly visible to more  people and help build brand aware- ness and credibility.  There are compelling business  reasons why sponsorships play an  important and integral part in the  Group’s marketing activities.  Tuborg’s involvement with music  has become an integral part of the  modern music world, with the brand  supporting the best music events and  festivals in Europe, including Roskilde  Festival (Denmark), GreenFest (East- ern Europe), Download Festival and  Glastonbury (UK) and Exit Festival  (Serbia; the largest annual music  festival in Eastern Europe). BALTIKA SPONSORSHIPS SUPPORTING BUSINESS GROWTH TUBORG AND MUSIC The Tuborg brand has been involved  with music for years, with its sup- port ranging from famous festivals  to a solo guitarist performing in a  crowded bar.  Sponsorships are about the passion  that connects our brands and values  with the sponsored events and their  fans and supporters. They allow us  to engage and develop relationships  with consumers who share the same  passion. The Group’s sponsorships  range from large global sponsor- ships to local sponsorships of music  events, sports clubs and the like. In club football, Carlsberg has wide- ranging partnerships throughout  Europe and beyond. In early 2013,  Carlsberg signed a three-year spon- sorship agreement with the English  Premier League – the most famous  football league in the world, not least  in Asia, with a cumulative audience of  4.7 billion people – and a three-year  partnership deal with the Chinese  Football Association Super League. The Carlsberg Group has a  long tradition of sponsoring  events and activities that  can be positively associated  with our brands and values.