Industry Shorts: Luke Campbell, Playfinder, Edgbaston
Olympic Gold medallist Luke Campbell will make a ‘return’ to the ring by competing in a new 18 round boxing contest on Monday 10th May as part of a new partnership with CALM, the Campaign Against Living Miserably.
Coinciding with Mental Health Awareness Week – which runs from 10th to 16th May – Campbell will ‘take on’ 18 different opponents from the world of sport & entertainment to raise awareness for the 18 people who lose their lives to suicide each day in the UK.
A range of famous faces – including Hollywood actor Michael Pena; BAFTA winning comedian Tom Davis; Broadcaster Gabby Logan; and Poet Hussain Manawer – will aim to raise awareness of and money for what CALM describes as ‘the hardest fight’ in many people’s lives: their mental health.
Grassroots sport platform Playfinder and community-use facilities platform Schools Plus have launched a new platform to broaden access to sports facilities.
Backed by Sport England and the Open Data Institute’s (ODI) OpenActive initiative, the partnership will see a ‘significant investment’ made to upgrade Schools Plus’ software so that their sports facilities – which includes the likes of football pitches, netball courts and indoor sports halls – made available online to players across the UK.
The partnership is said to provide an estimated 50,000 more people with access to some of the best sports facilities in the country.
In July 2020, the ODI awarded a joint tender of £15,000 to Playfinder and Schools Plus to test tooling developed as part of the OpenActive initiative. The funding helped deliver the technical work needed for the two companies to integrate their software, and to open up over 70 schools for online bookings.
Edgbaston Stadium has renewed its Official Energy Partnership with Haven Power, in a deal which will ensure the Birmingham venue continues to be powered by 100% renewable sources.
Haven Power and Warwickshire CCC began their supply partnership in late 2018, with the stadium stating its ambition to become the ‘greenest and most sustainable’ cricket venue in the UK.
The three-year renewal will give Haven Power the opportunity to maximise opportunities associated with Edgbaston’s extended 21-day programme of Major Match Cricket across the period.
The Secretary General of the ruling Japanese Liberal Democtratic party has said that cancellation of the Olympic Games ‘remains an option’
Speaking in a yet-to-air TV interview, Toshihiro Nikai said that, if the pandemic continues to get worse in the country, the Games could still be called off, although he did not directly call for this.
Meanwhile, the IOC Coordination Commission Chairman John Coates has said he believes that public opinion towards the Games will improve in Japan ahead of the Opening Ceremony on 23rd July. A new survey conducted by Japanese News Agency Kyodo News showed some 39% of respondents want the Games to be cancelled, while almost 33% are in favour of another delay.
