Sport Relief 2016 partner line up unveiled
Sport Relief will be returning for another action packed campaign in 2016, and Beyond Sport Awards partner, Comic Relief has announced a host of partners - both familiar and new. Each of them will be pulling out all the stops to make sure next year’s Sport Relief is the best one yet, in order to help transform people’s lives at home in the UK and across the world’s poorest communities.
Since the partnership began in 1999, Sainsbury’s has raised over £97 million for Comic Relief and is once again at the heart of Sport Relief in 2016 as the headline sponsor of the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games 2016. The official Sport Relief merchandise, including the t-shirts and wristbands, will be sold in Sainsbury’s stores, along with an additional selection of products which will donate money to Sport Relief.
Once again, BT will be the headline sponsor the Sport Relief celebrity challenge – to be announced soon. The team at BT raise stacks of cash for Comic Relief every year, as well as providing the systems, call centre, and network support to process millions of pounds worth of donations. On top of this, BT’s staff always go the extra mile to get involved and help make Sport Relief a huge success.
Flying Start is British Airways’ year-round fundraising partnership with Comic Relief. It raises money through tireless staff fundraising and generous donations of spare change and foreign currency from customers on board British Airways flights – and this year British Airways will be doing something extra special, just for Sport Relief, with some exciting plans in the pipeline.
The Premier League has donated millions to Sport Relief since its inception in 2002. For 2016, the partnership has extended to cover the Premier League Enterprise programme, giving young people the opportunity to work with Premier League and Football League clubs on an educational and business based range of topics. The Premier League Enterprise Challenge will see these young people competing at national level to create a marketing strategy based around a question set by Premier League executive chairman, Richard Scudamore.
Ryman and Robert Dyas will once again be selling the official Sport Relief Pens (£1 with at least 70p going to Comic Relief), available in four different designs and colours. Additionally, the organisations’ colleagues will be involved in fundraising, with everything from trusty collection buckets to sponsored bike rides and curling events scheduled, to help raise more money than ever.
RBS has already kicked off its official partnership in spectacular style, with a five-day, 500-mile, London to Edinburgh Cycle Challenge. More than 700 staff took part and they’ve already raised over £550,000 for Sport Relief. RBS has got a lot more fundraising in the pipeline - including encouraging its workforce to enter The Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games – watch this space.
For Sport Relief 2016 Better will be helping the public walk, run, swim and cycle their way to fundraising glory. As the UK’s largest leisure charitable social enterprise, Better shares Sport Relief’s mission to use sport to change lives for the better. Everyone is invited to use the gyms, pools and sports halls for support, training or to join the amazing community fundraising challenges.
Leading antiperspirant brand, Sure, is joining the line-up of sponsors and promising to make fundraising more fun through the power of movement. Equipped with protection to keep you moving, the more you move the more Sure will donate for Sport Relief 2016.
Sport England and Sport Relief are partnering for the first time ever in 2016. Following on from the huge success of the ground-breaking campaign to encourage more women and girls to become active, Sport England will expand its ‘This Girl Can’ campaign to encourage more women and girls to take part in the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games.
Another long-standing Sport Relief partner, Premiership Rugby, is back and raring to go for 2016. Premiership Rugby clubs and players will be getting involved with all sorts of fundraising activities all over the country so make sure to check out your local Premiership Rugby club and get involved.
England Netball is celebrating its 90th anniversary by putting on a 90 hour netball match to raise money for Sport Relief! They will be aiming to break the world record for the longest ever netball match between the 12th and 14th February in Whitechapel, London.
As first-time Sport Relief partners, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and Tennis Foundation will be encouraging aspiring tennis players all over the country to get on court and raise plenty of cash for a great cause during Sport Relief 2016. The LTA and Tennis Foundation have big plans in the locker including activity during the GB Davis Cup tie in March and serving up fundraising tennis events across the country.
Brands-for-less retailers HomeSense and TK Maxx have supported Comic Relief since 2005, raising over £17.7million through a variety of fundraising initiatives. They will once again be supporting Sport Relief for 2016 with merchandise, available in store and online.
For 2016, Oxfam returns as a partner and will once again be selling Sport Relief merchandise, with the official Sport Relief wristbands available in all Oxfam shops and the Sport Relief pin badges available at selected shops throughout the UK. Oxfam is also one of the many charities that receives grants from Comic Relief to support a number of projects across Africa, meaning the money goes full circle in the best possible way.
A new partner for Sport Relief 2016, diversified filmed entertainment company Lionsgate UK, will be supporting Comic Relief using the upcoming release of Eddie The Eagle as an anchor for Lionsgate UK’s fundraising efforts.
For Sport Relief 2016, YPlan, the event discovery and booking service, is fundraising by donating a percentage of sales from specially selected events. YPlan is also driving new signups to local Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games, while giving all fundraisers new to YPlan £5 credit to spend on any ticket they wish – just to say thanks.
Hodder & Stoughton is once again publishing The Great Sport Relief Bake Off book which features 13 recipes and expert tips to help everyone bake themselves proud for Sport Relief 2016. Costing £2.50, with £2 going to Comic Relief, the book is available from Sportrelief.com and Sainsbury’s.
Pottermore will be supporting Sport Relief by donating a percentage of sales from J.K. Rowling’s Quidditch Through the Ages to Comic Relief. The eBook version is available at pottermore.com and printed copies can be purchased from the high street and online book shops.
ParentPay, the market leader in online payment for schools, is a new partner for Sport Relief 2016 and will be giving parents the chance to pay in their children’s school sponsorship online. All transaction fees will be paid by ParentPay so that every pound goes to Comic Relief.
Michele Settle, director of UK campaigns and brands at Comic Relief said: “We are very proud to have such a fantastic line-up of partners for Sport Relief 2016 including a mix of supporters that we are welcoming back for another year and a selection of brand new partnerships. With so many exciting brands on board, Sport Relief 2016 is set to be the biggest and best yet, with more ways than ever for everyone to take part, change lives and feel proud.”
The Sport Relief campaign will be back in full force in January 2016 with a variety of exciting and entertaining plans from all partners, right up to the Sport Relief weekend on 18th- 20th March. The weekend centres on the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games, with flagship events at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London and in Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, Norwich and Sheffield, plus hundreds of locations across the UK. The public can choose to sign up to walk, run, swim or cycle themselves proud.