Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, announces today that it is to extend its sponsorship of the London Youth Games, Europe's largest youth sport programme, until at least 2015. This commitment is central to securing a healthy future for the Games in the period beyond the London Olympiad and will contribute to the creation of a long-term sporting and volunteering legacy for London. This new commitment will see £1.1 million go to funding grass roots London sport after 2012. During the period 2007-2015 Balfour Beatty will have contributed £2.5million to London youth sport.
Andrew McNaughton, Balfour Beatty Chief Operating Officer, commented:
“It is vitally important that we use the 2012 Olympic Games as a springboard for active participation in sport across the country and in London, in particular. Our partnership with the London Youth Games is a key part of our mission to help young people make the best of themselves and this extension will ensure that forward momentum is maintained.”
In the period since 2007, when Balfour Beatty took up the sponsorship of the Games, participation levels have approximately tripled to over 70,000 young people. Among disabled athletes the figure has quadrupled to 5,500.
In addition to underpinning the core costs of the Games and helping fund its growth, Balfour Beatty's support also involves the provision of grants to individual London boroughs to help develop sports facilities and activities at a local level. Over the last five years, in partnership with “Help A Capital Child”, the company has given more than £300,000 to support schemes across London, bringing new opportunities to 15,000 young people. Its involvement has also encouraged more than 3,500 young people to volunteer to help at the Games to date.
The news was announced at the School Games finals of the 2012 Balfour Beatty London Youth Games at the National Sports Centre Crystal Palace where 3,000 primary aged youngsters from right across London competed in eight sports.
Minister for Sport, Hugh Robertson MP, said:
“I'm delighted that Balfour Beatty has continued its investment in the London Youth Games. This is exactly the kind of partnership between business and sport we want to see, benefitting young people and building on our legacy from 2012.”
Media enquiries
Matt Graydon
Balfour Beatty plc
Tel +44 (0)20 7216 6911
Notes to Editors
1. Balfour Beatty (www.balfourbeatty.com) is a world-class infrastructure group with capabilities in professional services, construction services, support services and infrastructure investments.
We work in partnership with our customers principally in the UK, continental Europe, the US, South-East Asia, Australia and the Middle East, who value the highest levels of quality, safety and technical expertise.
Key infrastructure markets include transportation (roads, rail and airports); social infrastructure (education, specialist healthcare, and various types of accommodation); utilities (water, gas and power transmission and generation) and commercial (offices, leisure and retail).
The Group delivers services essential to the development, creation and care of these infrastructure assets including project design, financing and management, engineering and construction, and facilities management services.
Balfour Beatty employs 50,000 people around the world.
2. Balfour Beatty works in a number of other ways to help young people improve their motivation, aspirations, quality of life and achievement levels. Through its charitable foundation, Building Better Futures, it has donated over £1.6 million to young people's charities over the last 3 years. It funds, principally, programmes designed and managed by The Princes Trust, Action for Children and Coram. It is also a founder member of the "Get Into Construction? scheme which has over given more than 2,000 disadvantaged young people training and work experience in basic construction skills.
Balfour Beatty currently has some 450 young apprentices employed across the UK.
3. BBLYG are unique because they involve all 33 London Boroughs and 26 National Governing Bodies (NGBs) The Balfour Beatty London Youth Games are open to all Londoners aged 7-18 Balfour Beatty are the title sponsor of the Balfour Beatty London Youth Games until 2015 Partners include Sport England, Thames Water and 33 London boroughs Sport England invests National Lottery and Exchequer funding in organisations and projects that will grow and sustain participation in grassroots sport and create opportunities for people to excel at their chosen sport. For more information, see www.sportengland.org.
