Greenpeace activists unveil oil-drenched Olympic rings in protest against fossil fuel sponsorship of Winter Games

Photos and videos of the Olympic rings installation and Greenpeace protest can be downloaded via the Greenpeace Media Library

February 5, 2026. Milan – This morning, Greenpeace activists unveiled a giant replica of the Olympic rings tarnished with black oil, accompanied by the words “Sponsored by Eni” in the Piazza Duomo in Milan, where the Olympic flame is expected to arrive later today. 

The eye-catching installation standing at three metres high, is made from wood and metal with recycled plastic waste moulded to look like oil dripping from the rings. 

Activists also displayed banners reading “Kick polluters out of the Games”, in a protest against one of the Games’ major sponsors, Italian oil and gas giant Eni, whose annual emissions could melt enough glacier ice to fill 2.5 million Olympic swimming pools.

Greenpeace Italy has released a hard-hitting video (featuring the same image of the Olympic rings used in the Milan installation) depicting an avalanche of oil cascading through the Games, creating chaos as it engulfs athletes along the way. The video denounces Eni and the impact oil giants are having on the Winter Games.

Greenpeace UK climate campaigner, Phillip Evans, said:

“The Olympic rings are meant to symbolize unity and respect amongst the continents and people of the world, yet the IOC is partnering with destructive oil and gas companies who are driving the climate crisis; fuelling more storms and floods, more droughts and more wildfires.”

“These corporate polluters are literally stealing our winters. The IOC needs to recognise the hypocrisy of their toxic partnership with Big Oil and commit to ending fossil fuel sponsorship across all Olympic Games.” 

Greenpeace Italy and Greenpeace International have sent an  open letter  to the IOC asking it to ban fossil fuel sponsorships, building on its legacy of banning tobacco advertising in 1988.

Research conducted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reveals the likelihood that, in the next 50 years, snow and the conditions needed for future Winter Olympics, will be at risk in half of all the potential host cities.

Contact:

Greenpeace UK Press Office – Press UK or 020 7865 8255

Gaia Maione, Press Officer, Greenpeace Italy Gaia Maione or +39 340 571 80193