12 Nov 2015
Prudential renews sponsorship of RideLondon
Prudential, the inaugural sponsor of RideLondon, has extended its sponsorship of the world’s greatest festival of cycling for a further three years, up to and including the 2018 event.
First held in 2013, the Mayor of London’s multi-award-winning cycling festival has already become one of the largest fundraising events in the UK, with more than £20 million raised for good causes in its first three years. The 2015 festival saw a record number of more than 95,000 riders of all ages and abilities participating in five events on traffic-free roads in London and Surrey.
The UCI, cycling’s world governing body, has granted WorldTour status to the women’s road race event for 2016 and the organisers are planning other significant developments to increase the size, diversity and accessibility of the festival.
Over the next three years, Prudential will focus its sponsorship around maximising the funds raised for charity through the development of new and existing charitable partnerships, which will form part of its programme of investing in local communities.
Mike Wells, Prudential Group Chief Executive, said: “We’re delighted to be renewing our Prudential RideLondon sponsorship for a further three years. It’s a great opportunity for us to make this fantastic festival one of the most successful charity fundraising events in the world.
“At Prudential we have a long history of supporting the communities in which we work and by extending this sponsorship we can help raise even greater sums of money for good causes across the UK and further afield, making a real difference to people’s lives.”
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, said: "Prudential RideLondon has, without doubt, become the greatest mass-participation cycling event in the world. Whether it's the elite athletes racing through the streets or families enjoying a leisurely ride past London's landmarks, the celebration of cycling has become a hugely popular fixture in our sporting calendar. I'm sure this extended sponsorship deal will prove to be a huge boost, both for the event itself and the charities it supports."
Richard Walsh, Surrey County Council's Cabinet Member for Localities and Community Wellbeing, said: “There can be no doubt that this celebration of pedal power has inspired many others to get on their bikes and enjoy the benefits of cycling and we are looking forward to welcoming the event to Surrey again next year.”
Hugh Brasher, Prudential RideLondon Event Director, said: “We are looking forward to working with Prudential over the next three years to develop further this unique event which has already inspired so many thousands to get on their bikes and start cycling.”
The fourth Prudential RideLondon will take place over the weekend of 30-31 July 2016.
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Notes to editors:
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Prudential RideLondon is the world’s greatest festival of cycling with 95,000+ cyclists participating in five separate events on traffic-free roads in London and Surrey over the weekend of 1-2 August 2015. The events are: the Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle, the Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix, the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100, the Prudential RideLondon Handcycle Classic and the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic. The 2016 event takes place over the weekend of 30-31 July. Find out more at www.PrudentialRideLondon.co.uk. |
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Prudential RideLondon was developed by the Mayor of London, Transport for London and London & Partners in partnership with Surrey County Council and is sponsored by Prudential. The event is managed by the London & Surrey Cycling Partnership. |
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Prudential RideLondon has won a total of 11 major awards to date:
- European Sport Tourism Event of the Year (2014)
- London Cycling Awards Event of the Year (2014)
- BT Sport Industry Awards: Participation Event of the Year (2013 and 2014)
- UK Event Awards: Large Event of the Year (2013) and Sports Event of the Year (2013 and 2014)
- 2013 Cyclosport Industry Award, given for an outstanding contribution to the cycling industry
- Most Innovative Cycling Event and Favourite British Cyclo-Sportive in the Cycling Weekly readers’ annual poll
- UK Cycling Event of the Year in the Total Women’s Cycling readers’ awards
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About Prudential plc
Prudential plc is incorporated in England and Wales, and its affiliated companies constitute one of the world's leading financial services groups, serving around 25 million insurance customers, and has £505 billion of assets under management (as at 30 June 2015). Prudential plc is listed on the stock exchanges in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York.
In 2014, The Prudential Group spent £19.6 million supporting community activities across the territories in which it operates.
Prudential plc is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc., a company whose principal place of business is in the United States of America.
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