Product category:
Sponsorship
News Release from: Fast Track
Edited by the Marketingservicestalk Editorial
Team on 30 January 2008
Swimming championships sign more
partners
The organisers of the FINA World Swimming Championships 2008 have announced another trio of partners as official suppliers to support the event.
The Trafford Centre, Manchester Airport and United Utilities have been added to a burgeoning list of impressive partners for the event, further increasing the links the championships have to the local community The deals, brokered by Fast Track, the market leading sports events, communication, consulting and rights marketing agency, join the previously announced tie ups with the Manchester Evening News, Kelloggs, Pure, GMG Radio, Serco and Northern Rail and are sure to further enhance the profile of the first major global sporting championships to be held in Manchester since the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and the UK's biggest swimming event since the 1948 Olympics
This article was originally published on Marketingservicestalk on 21 Jun 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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With just under six months until competition begins in earnest at Manchester's MEN arena from Wednesday 9 April 2008 to Sunday 13 April 2008, Fast Track, which handles national sponsors and supplier sales on behalf of the Local Organising Committee, is also in talks to fill the remaining commercial opportunities, particularly the only two available at national partner level.
Further announcements regarding other suppliers joining the partner family are expected shortly.
The deals just announced are as follows: The Trafford Centre becomes the Official Shopping Centre to the FINA World Swimming Championships 2008, and will provide extensive advertising throughout the centre, promotion of ticket sales and hosting of exclusive events in the run up to the championships.
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Manchester Airport becomes a key corporate supporter of the event, providing all spectators and competitors a warm Mancunian welcome, as well as staff to the volunteer programme.
As part of its deal, United Utilities will provide more than 2 million litres of water for the two championship pools that will be built in the MEN Arena.
The main pool will be a competition standard pool where all the action will take place with 7,500 seats surrounding it.
The other pool will be behind a curtain, invisible to the general public and will be for the athletes to warm up before they race and swim down after the race.
Marc Hope, director of Rights Marketing at Fast Track, said: "I'm pleased to welcome the Trafford Centre, Manchester Airport and United Utilities to the growing sponsor family.
"We are focusing now on sourcing two national sponsors who will benefit from extensive television branding and tailored involvement in the legacy and volunteer programmes.
"There is still time to become involved in the UK's biggest swimming event since the 1948 Olympics to make the most of a company's involvement in the build-up to Beijing 2008 and London 2012." Gordon McKinnon, Director of Operations at The Trafford Centre, said: "The Trafford Centre has in the past been involved in sponsorship with major sporting activities such as the Commonwealth Games, the Salford Triathlon, and Salford City Reds Rugby league Club.
As an iconic destination in the North West we are keen to support events of this nature which do so much to promote and grow the region and are delighted to support the FINA World Swimming Championships".
Geoff Muirhead CBE, Chief Executive of the Manchester Airports Group, said: "We are delighted to be supporting the FINA World Swimming Championships in 2008 - more than 650 of the world's premier athletes from 120 different countries will be arriving in the city many through Manchester Airport, not to mention all their supporters, so we are proud to be able to give them the warm Mancunian welcome they deserve".
Sharon King, United Utilities partnerships manager, said: "We are pleased to be providing such essential support for the FINA World Swimming Championships - we're part way through an GBP8 million scheme to upgrade Manchester's water supplies so we decided this was a great chance for us to splash out and thank the people of the city for their patience while the work continues".
Head of PR, five times World Swimming Champion and Mancunian James Hickman said: "It's fantastic news that the Trafford Centre, Manchester Airport and United Utilities are on board as some of the planet's best swimmers will be in Manchester to hone their skills for the Olympic Games in Beijing just a few months later.
"It will be an incredible experience and the fact they're being held in a concert venue will add to the anticipation, with the addition of lighting and sound effects it will be very rock and roll".
The eyes of the world will be on Manchester as 650 athletes from 120 different countries will take part in this five-day event which will be the first FINA World Swimming Championship to ever be staged in the UK.
Manchester always does things differently and it promises to be like no other swim meet with two huge temporary pools being built in one of country's most popular concert venues - The Manchester Evening News Arena.
BBC Television has also committed to provide 10 hours of coverage across the five days of the event.
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