8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549


                                    FORM 8-K


                                 CURRENT REPORT

                       Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
                       the Securities Exchange Act of 1934


               Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):
                                   May 4, 2004



                              THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
             (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)



               Delaware             001-02217             58-0628465
           (State or other         (Commission           (IRS Employer
             jurisdiction          File Number)        Identification No.)
          of incorporation)



              One Coca-Cola Plaza
                Atlanta, Georgia                            30313
    (Address of principal executive offices)              (Zip Code)


        Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (404)676-2121






Item 5.  Other Events and Regulation FD Disclosure

Attached as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference is a copy of a
press release of The Coca-Cola Company, dated May 4, 2004, regarding the naming
of E. Neville Isdell as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Elect.

Item 7(c).        Exhibits

Exhibit 99.1      Press Release of The Coca-Cola Company, dated May 4, 2004,
                  regarding the naming of E. Neville Isdell as Chairman and
                  Chief Executive Officer Elect.






                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                                           THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
                                           (REGISTRANT)


Date:  May 5, 2004                         By: /s/ David M. Taggart
                                               --------------------
                                               David M. Taggart
                                               Vice President and Treasurer







                                  Exhibit Index



Exhibit No.
- -----------

Exhibit 99.1      Press Release of The Coca-Cola Company, dated May 4, 2004,
                  regarding the naming of E. Neville Isdell as Chairman and
                  Chief Executive Officer.

EX-99.1

                                                                  Exhibit 99.1


THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
NEWS RELEASE                              Media Relations Department
                                          P.O. Box 1734, Atlanta, Georgia 30301
                                          Telephone: (404) 676-2121

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     Contact: Sonya Soutus
                                                   404-676-2683



                 COCA-COLA NAMES E. NEVILLE ISDELL CHAIRMAN AND
                          CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ELECT
                 ----------------------------------------------

         ATLANTA, May 4, 2004 -- The Coca-Cola Company today announced that the
Company's Board of Directors has named E. Neville Isdell chairman and chief
executive officer elect to succeed Doug Daft. The transition is expected to take
place by early summer. Until that time, Mr. Daft will work to ensure an
effective and seamless transition.

         Donald R. Keough, chairman of the Management Development Committee of
the Board, which conducted the search, said: "During this thorough search
process, we have been privileged to meet with a number of outstanding and
talented leaders. As a result of this process, we concluded that our ideal
candidate was an executive who combined a deep prior knowledge of our brand, our
values, and our system. Within this field of highly accomplished executives,
Neville Isdell possesses the unique talents and experience to lead this great
company."

         Doug Daft said: "Upon becoming chief executive in 2000, I had four key
objectives: to re-establish critical relationships with our bottling partners,
customers and communities everywhere, to expand the Company's portfolio of
beverages, to

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Page 2 of 4

invest in our brands, and to implement a strategy for building share owner
value. We have made significant progress in all of these areas, and Neville
inherits a strong and thriving company with rock solid fundamental strengths.
Neville's deep knowledge of our global business and system will serve him
extremely well as he takes over the reins of our Company and moves our business
forward."

         E. Neville Isdell said: "I am both proud and humbled to be given the
opportunity to help write the next chapter in this illustrious company's
history. I appreciate the importance of this position and the trust placed in me
by the Board of Directors. We are all grateful to Doug Daft for his enormous
contributions and look forward to building upon the tremendous foundation he and
his team have built. I am excited to get started and help shape our future,"
concluded Mr. Isdell.

         Jimmy Williams, member of the Management Development Committee of the
Board commented, "Neville Isdell has led the Company's business operations on
five continents and in some of its largest and most important markets. He has
developed new markets and injected innovation and competitiveness into existing
operations. Additionally, he has created major bottling companies and built
outstanding leadership teams while staying true to the enduring values of our
brand and Company."

         An Irish citizen, Mr. Isdell, 60, joined the Coca-Cola system in Zambia
in 1966. After holding positions of increasing responsibility in South Africa,
Australia, and The Philippines, he was named president of the Company's Central
European Division, based in Germany, in 1985, where he restructured the German
bottling system to 30 franchises from 106 in just over three years. From 1989 to
1998 as group president for North East Europe, the Middle East and Africa and
one of five

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Page 3 of 4

executives operating the worldwide business, Mr. Isdell was responsible for
opening or re-opening new markets in India, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and
the former Soviet Union. In 1995 he was named president of the Greater Europe
Group comprising territories accounting for nearly one third of the Company's
worldwide profits.

         Mr. Isdell left the Company in 1998 to serve as chairman of Coca-Cola
Beverages, a company that went public the same year. In 2000, he negotiated a
merger with Hellenic Bottling Company to form Coca-Cola HBC, at the time the
world's second-largest Coca-Cola bottler, and became its chief executive
officer. He left CCHBC at the end of 2001.

         Mr. Isdell holds a BS in Sociology from the University of Cape Town and
has studied at the Harvard Business School. He has served on the Boards of
Directors of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola Amatil, Coca-Cola Femsa, and
British Telecom, and remains a director of Scottish and Newcastle Breweries.

The Coca-Cola Company
- ---------------------

The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along with
Coca-Cola, recognized as the world's best-known brand, the Company markets four
of the world's top five soft drink brands, including diet Coke, Fanta and
Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft
drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks.
Through the world's largest distribution system, consumers in more than 200
countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1 billion servings
each day. For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit our
website at www.coca-cola.com.
           -----------------

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Forward-Looking Statements
- --------------------------
This press release may contain statements, estimates or projections that
constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined under U.S. federal
securities laws. Generally, the words "believe," "expect," "intend,"
"estimate," "anticipate," "project," "will" and similar expressions identify
forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature.
Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from The Coca-Cola
Company's historical experience and our present expectations or projections.
These risks include, but are not limited to, changes in economic and
political conditions; changes in the nonalcoholic beverages business
environment, including actions of competitors and changes in consumer
preferences; product boycotts; foreign currency and interest rate
fluctuations; adverse weather conditions; the effectiveness of our
advertising and marketing programs; fluctuations in the cost and availability
of raw materials; our ability to achieve earnings forecasts; regulatory and
legal changes; our ability to penetrate developing and emerging markets;
litigation uncertainties; and other risks discussed in our Company's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including our Annual
Report on Form 10-K, which filings are available from the SEC. You should not
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of
the date they are made. The Coca-Cola Company undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

                                       ###

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