Virgin Money to end London Marathon sponsorship after 2021
Melanie May | 23 October 2019 | News
London Marathon is looking for a new sponsor for 2022 onwards, after London Marathon Events announced that 2021 is to be the last year of Virgin Money’s long-standing sponsorship of the event.
The partnership dates back to 2010, first with Virgin and then with Virgin Money from 2014. Virgin Money has decided not to renew the current contract, which comes to an end after the 2021 event.
This also means the London Marathon will be looking for an alternative to Virgin Money Giving as the official fundraising platform for the event.
Hugh Brasher, Event Director for London Marathon Events, said:
“Our partnership with Virgin Money has been fantastic and together we have established London as the greatest marathon in the world. This year we celebrated a landmark in our history as we passed £1 billion raised for charity since our first race in 1981 and more than £560 million of that was raised since the first year of this partnership.
“We are very proud that this partnership led to the creation of Virgin Money Giving, the not-for-profit fundraising platform which has meant that so much more of the money raised by our runners goes to their chosen charity.
“Twelve years is a very long time in sports sponsorship and further illustration of the mutual success of this partnership. We would like to thank everyone at Virgin Money for their wonderful support of the London Marathon.”
Helen Page, Group Brand and Marketing Director at Virgin Money, said:
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“We are proud to have partnered with the London Marathon. Together we have raised more than £560 million for charities and built an enduring legacy that will benefit society and causes for decades to come – with £200 million of that raised on Virgin Money Giving, our not-for-profit fundraising platform.
“As a new organisation with a new purpose we need to realign our future sponsorship and take a different direction. We remain committed to sponsoring the London Marathon until 2021 and look forward to playing a huge part in the London Marathon’s 40th race celebrations in 2020.”
This year’s Virgin Money London Marathon raised a record-breaking £66.4m for charity. 2020’s race is the 40th, and takes place on Sunday 26 April.
Image: Woman running for Dementia Revolution in 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.