BT announces long term commitment to Paralympic sport in the UK

BT today announced its long term commitment to Paralympic sport in the UK, helping secure a lasting legacy for the country’s Paralympic athletes through the London 2012 Paralympic Games and beyond.

BT will continue to support the British Paralympic Association (BPA) after the London 2012 Paralympic Games, for the period 1 January 2013 until 31 December 2016, supporting ParalympicsGB athletes as they compete in Sochi in 2014 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

This news further demonstrates BT’s commitment to Paralympic sport, and to creating a sustainable advantage for the British Paralympic team beyond the Games in London 2012.
As part of the agreement BT is working with the British athletes to create communications services to enhance and support their training and team interaction, ensuring nothing detracts from their performance. BT’s innovative technology will help keep Britain’s Paralympians ahead of the game. And together, BT and ParalympicsGB will ensure that the team is ‘best prepared’ in every sense.

As part of this collaboration, BT has the highest level of sponsorship rights and benefits including; association with the ParalympicsGB team, tickets and hospitality rights at the Paralympic Games of 2014 and 2016 and at other official Paralympic events, and extensive branding and recognition across BPA marketing materials.

BT is a long term supporter of the BPA and was the association’s first commercial partner when it was founded in 1989. This new partnership further demonstrates BT’s commitment to Paralympic sport in the UK. BT is the Official Communications Services Partner to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. BT is also title sponsor of the BT Paralympic World Cup, the largest annual international multi-sport competition in elite disability sport. The event takes place in Manchester from 25-31 May 2010, and features BT Ambassadors Oscar Pistorius and Liz Johnson.

Suzi Williams, BT Group Marketing Director, said, “We are already two years into our journey with our friends at ParalympicsGB, and are working to ensure they are the most connected Paralympic team in the world. It’s a partnership that is going from strength to strength already. That’s why BT is very proud today to be increasing our commitment and becoming a partner of ParalympicsGB all the way to Rio in 2016. We are all firmly focused on making the London 2012 Paralympic Games the best they can be, and seeing the GB team make Britain proud”.

Phil Lane, chief executive of the British Paralympic Association, said, “BT had the vision to support us 20 years ago, when Paralympic sport was still in its infancy. We’re delighted that they now have the vision to support us past 2012, showing that they see the value in our partnership beyond the attraction of a home Games. With their support, both financial and technical, we will be able to ensure that British athletes are best prepared for London, Sochi and Rio.”

Seb Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games said, “I am delighted that BT is extending its commitment to Paralympic sport here in the UK – they are providing a great legacy for the Paralympic movement.

“We want to inspire young people to choose sport and learn about the Paralympic values. BT will help us insure that this inspiration doesn’t stop in 2012 but continues long after.”


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About ParalympicsGB
ParalympicsGB are the organisation responsible for selecting, entering, managing and funding the British team at the summer and winter Paralympic Games. ParalympicsGB are proud of their tradition as a leading nation in Paralympic sport and Britain have finished second on the medals table at the last three summer Paralympic Games. At the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, ParalympicsGB finished second in the medals table behind host nation China and won 102 medals, 42 of which were Gold. For news updates visit the ParalympicsGB website at www.paralympics.org.uk Follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/ParalympicsGB/116797732269?ref=ts and Twitter http://twitter.com/paralympicsgb