Virgin Group to sponsor London Marathon

Mon, 19/05/2008 - 10:57

Events | United Kingdom | Sponsorship | Track And Field

Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has signed a five-year, £17 million deal to become the official sponsor of the London marathon from 2010. Virgin Money, the Group’s financial services arm, will be the lead brand in the sponsorship.

One of the first initiatives under the new deal will be the launch of a new London marathon website on April 26, 2009. Website users will be able to enter the marathon online, find training partners, watch celebrities training and download music playlists.

Virgin founder Richard Branson said, “It's an epic and inspirational event and raises a fantastic amount of money for great causes. It's the single biggest fundraising day on the planet and we want to make it even bigger, our aim is to help runners smash the £250 million [fundraising mark] in five years.”

Virgin will replace Unilever’s margarine brand Flora, which has been the official sponsor of the event for the past fourteen year.

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