A $1.5B Olympic Legacy Project Across U.K. Looks For Communications Help

Sport England is building a roster of PR and sponsorship agencies to "encourage the public to engage with grassroots sport over the next four years," according to Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith of PR WEEK. The National Lottery and the Exchequer awarded £1B ($1.5B) of funding to the body in Jan. '12 to "launch a five-year youth and community strategy." Running until '17, when London hosts the World Athletics Championships, the funding "spans four areas" of work: a £450M ($672M) investment for National Governing Bodies of sport; "funding for facilities; local investment; and extra-curricular sports activity around schools." Sport England’s Business & Partnerships Dir Tanya Joseph is "leading the process." She said that the document comprises two lots: "one handling PR and one for sponsorship and partnership, recognising that some agencies will be able to deliver on both fronts" (PR WEEK, 3/13).