Bisleri rented the water slot. Red Bull built its own stage.
How the busiest sponsors of 2026 so far are spending, in India and the Gulf.
Bisleri is the most active sponsor in India this year on our record: ten properties confirmed by early October, and the title on none of them. In seven it is the beverage partner, at two city races, two music festivals, an art fair, a hockey league and a business summit. Wherever a crowd stands around for hours it gets thirsty, and Bisleri has made sure the bottle in its hand says Bisleri.
The list: Tata Mumbai Marathon, TCS World 10K Bengaluru, Lollapalooza India, Magnetic Fields, India Art Fair, Hockey India League and the ET NOW Global Business Summit, plus a partner deal at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, an official partnership with the Women's Premier League and a place on the film Patriot.
Its own stage
Red Bull is third with seven, and six of those are events it runs itself: Red Bull Bhangra Brrrawl, Red Bull Vallam Vali, Red Bull Symphonic, Red Bull Turn It Up, Red Bull Solo Legends and the Red Bull Wings Cup. The seventh, the Battlegrounds Mobile India Masters Series, is the only stage it shares, as beverage partner. Bisleri rents a slot on other people's stages. Red Bull builds the stage and keeps the whole of it.
Stadium, conference, television
Google India sits between them with eight. It is presenting partner of the IPL and official partner of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, a partner at Global Fintech Fest, India Mobile Congress and Goafest, technology partner of Lollapalooza India, and on Kaun Banega Crorepati. Cricket and the business calendar make up most of it.
In the Gulf, two names on the same two events
Emirates and DP World tie at six properties each, and they share two of them: both are official partners of the Dubai Desert Classic and the Dubai World Cup. The difference is in whose name goes up. Emirates takes the title of one event, the Dubai Rugby Sevens. DP World has its name on two, the DP World ILT20 and the DP World Tour Championship, and adds trade stages: ADIPEC and Gulfood.
The top ten
| # | Brand | Properties |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bisleri | 10 |
| 2 | Google India | 8 |
| 3 | Red Bull India | 7 |
| 4 | NPCI (RuPay, UPI, BHIM) | 6 |
| 5 | Vedanta | 5 |
| 6 | IDFC FIRST Bank | 5 |
| 7 | PhonePe | 4 |
| 8 | Reliance Industries (Jio, Reliance Retail) | 4 |
| 9 | Tata Group (corporate brand) | 4 |
| 10 | Zee | 4 |
| # | Brand | Properties |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emirates | 6 |
| 2 | DP World | 6 |
| 3 | ADNOC | 4 |
| 4 | Qatar Airways | 3 |
| 5 | ADCB | 3 |
| 6 | Mediclinic | 3 |
| 7 | Ooredoo | 2 |
| 8 | Dubai Holding | 2 |
| 9 | Etihad Airways | 2 |
| 10 | Visit Qatar | 2 |
How we counted: confirmed 2026 deals only, data as of 4 Oct 2026. A property counts once however many tiers a brand holds on it. Media partners and government bodies are left out, as in our rankings. Every deal links to the article it came from.