Usain Bolt renews sponsorship contract with Puma

Jamaican sprint superhero, world record holder and Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, has announced that he has renewed his contract with global sportlifestyle brand and long-term sponsor PUMA until the end of 2013.

While the specific terms of the contract are undisclosed, the figure is claimed to be by far the largest ever given to a Track and Field athlete, positioning Bolt as a top earner in the world of sport, a further acknowledgment of his astonishing achievements over the past two years.

Show director Sam North said: "We're absolutely delighted that our new show sponsor, P&O Ferries, has given such a headline-grabbing offer to attract even more buyers to the show. In addition to the VAT rise to twenty percent in January, this will make an even more compelling reason for buyers to get their orders in early.

"The free return ticket will help every exhibitor to get the maximum benefit from this year's show and - of course - we welcome P&O Ferries as one of our thirty new exhibitors".

Mark Atherton, head of sales of P&O Ferries, said: "Next year we launch the first of the two largest ferries ever to operate on the Dover-Calais route. After investment worth more than £300 million we'll see the Spirit of Britain come into service in January 2011 and the Spirit of France will follow in September next year.

Sponsoring International Caravan & Motorhome is a great way to promote the benefits of these exciting ships to caravan and motorhome users and let them know how welcome they are on these new vessels".

More than 250 exhibitors are already lined up for 2010 International Caravan & Motorhome Show with P&O Ferries.

"Our new partnership with one of the largest and most popular sporting organizations in the world will fulfil all these criteria, and it constitutes a key element of our newly launched branding activities. The global reach of F1TM complements the many local activities we support.".

Bernie Ecclestone, Group CEO of Formula 1™, said: "UBS is a global company where performance, teamwork and superior execution are integral to their clients' success. These values complement those of Formula 1™ and I'm delighted to welcome UBS to Formula 1™.

"In line with all commercial contracts, the financial terms of the agreement will not be disclosed by UBS or Formula 1™. Commercial attractiveness was however a key consideration for UBS and the agreement compares favourably with other forms of brand awareness and client hospitality".

Donna Taberer, Five’s Head of Entertainment said: "Optomen, as always, have produced an inspiring cookery series, full of tips and fun. We have some brilliant celebrities attached to the series who will be spicing it up in the kitchen with Simon".

Head of Marketing Support for SPAR, Adam Margolin, commented: "We are pleased to be associated with the Meals in Moments series which has been created through the combined creative talents of MEC, Optomen and Channel Five. For SPAR, it's an exciting new initiative which ties in well with our developing strategy to deliver meal solutions throughout all our UK stores".

The delicious meals created in the series range from aubergine cutlets with homemade pesto to bubble and squeak cakes with sausages and onion gravy to classic fish pie. Each of the celebrities will offer their own unique interpretation of some familiar classics with a few surprises thrown in along the way, say Channel Five.

Each guest will chat to Simon about why they love their particular recipe and what makes it, in their eyes, the perfect dish to cook up in a flash. At the end of each show, Simon and his famous guest will put their dishes to the test. Meals in Moments is produced by Optomen Television. The Executive Producer is Gary Broadhurst and the Producer/Director is Robert Callway.

A book of the series has also been commissioned. Published by Premium Publishing, the Meals in Moments recipe book will be available to buy from participating SPAR stores and online from Amazon. Priced at £4.99, the book contains sixty simple and delicious recipes including all those prepared by Meals in Moments' celebrity guests and features photography from the set of the TV series. Profits from book sales will go to the NSPCC and CHILDREN 1ST.

The series will play every weekday on Five at 2.50pm from Monday, 20th September.

NME.COM users will be invited to rate the entries throughout the competition and the scores will be considered in the final stage of voting by the panel.

Categories for amateurs consist of Live, Portrait, Reportage, Festivals, as well as categories Age Group 15-17, Age Group 14 and under, and Grand Prix (into which all entries are automatically entered). The categories for professionals are Photographer of the Year and Outstanding Contribution.

Carling has been a major sponsor of football for many years, and this announcement builds upon its range of other sponsorships, including the Carling Premiership in Northern Ireland, the Carling Cup in England and Wales, and most recently its sponsorship of the Scotland national team and Scottish Cup.

Niall McMullan, Molson Coors Head of Sales for Northern Ireland, said: "At Carling, we are as passionate about the beautiful game as the fans are and we're thrilled to sponsor the inaugural Carling Nations Cup. We believe that football is a great sociable experience, best shared with friends whether watching the action live at the game, in the pub or at home on the sofa. We're sure that the Carling Nations Cup will provide fans with plenty of entertainment and excitement.

"We will also be using this association to support the local drinks industry by investing significantly in an exciting range of marketing and promotional activities to increase footfall in pubs throughout Northern Ireland", he added.

Irish Football Association Chief Executive Patrick Nelson added: "To have Carling come on board as the title sponsor of the Carling Nations Cup is fantastic. Carling has shown its dedication and commitment to investing in football throughout the UK and Ireland and the Irish FA has experienced this through Carling's very successful sponsorship of the Premiership in Northern Ireland.

"This is going to be a great tournament for all four Associations and it is one that we are certain the players and fans will really get excited about. These are the sort of games that bring fans together to enjoy a feast of football right on our doorstep", Nelson concluded.

Former Northern Ireland international, Pat Jennings, who earned 119 caps for his country, was on hand to lend his support, alongside former internationals Packie Bonner of the Republic of Ireland, Craig Burley of Scotland and Ian Walsh of Wales.

Speaking at the launch, Pat Jennings said: "The Carling Nations Cup is a wonderful idea and a welcome addition to the international footballing calendar, harking back to the good old days of the 'home internationals', which were always very popular with local football fans.

"I'm sure fans of all four competing teams will be excited at the prospect of playing each other in what is a fantastic new stadium", he added.

Pictures: top right - Northern Ireland legend Pat Jennings alongside Carling’s Niall McMullan at the sponsorship launch of the new Carling Nations Cup in the new Aviva Stadium; bottom left - Northern Ireland legend Pat Jennings alongside the Republic of Ireland’s Packie Bonner and Carling’s Niall McMullan at the sponsorship launch of the new Carling Nations Cup in the new Aviva Stadium.

"Edinburgh is one of our businesses’ key centres and it is a special privilege to support this landmark project and the National Galleries of Scotland, whose championing of public access and education is very much in tune with the key principles that inform our own international programme of arts sponsorship", said Woody Kerr, Vice-Chairman of Europe at BNY Mellon. "I have no doubt that this remarkable exhibition will prove a huge success for both the National Galleries and the city of Edinburgh itself".

Commenting on the announcement, John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland, said: "Impressionist Gardens will be the big festival exhibition at the National Gallery of Scotland this year, and a highlight of our summer season. This is the first time that this fascinating subject has been the focus of a major exhibition and we are delighted to have secured some spectacular loans from collections around the world.

"To organise an exhibition on this scale would have been almost impossible without the generous support we have received from BNY Mellon, and we are extremely grateful to them for helping us to stage this landmark show".

Impressionist Gardens, which has been organised in partnership with the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, is the first major international exhibition to examine the Impressionists’ fascination with gardens and gardening, a subject that was of central importance in their work. The exhibition includes around a hundred works from collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart.

Impressionist Gardens is being curated by Michael Clarke, Director of the National Gallery of Scotland and organiser of many exhibitions on Impressionism, and Dr Clare Willsdon, Reader in History of Art at the University of Glasgow and a world expert on the subject.

Throughout its 225 year history, BNY Mellon has supported non-profit organisations addressing cultural awareness and access, economic vitality, education and urgent human needs. It has worked with many of the world’s leading art, cultural and philanthropic institutions and has supported them with charitable investments, sponsorships and through the volunteer efforts of its employees.

BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than 100 markets.

It is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $22.4 trillion in assets under custody and administration, $1.1 trillion in assets under management, services $11.8 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.5 trillion per day.

The exhibition runs until 17th October, 2010.

The Garden at Les Lauves by Paul Cezanne (1906) - top right
Garden in Bordighera by Claude Monet (1884) - bottom left
Paintings are for illustration only - not known whether they are included in the exhibition

Triumph LIVE is a day-long event open to all motorcyclists, not just Triumph fans, and promises to be a great day out at Mallory Park - on track action includes a round of the Triumph Triple Challenge race series and a special Street Triple R guest invitation race.

Triumph's World Supersport rider Chaz Davies will be taking part, along with a number of Triumph racers from the British Supersport championship. There will also be some track time available for customers to try out a Daytona 675 for themselves, while Triumph's stunt riders, Kevin Carmichael and Paul Hanks, will also keep the crowd entertained.

Off track there will be a host of attractions, including the first preview of Triumph's 2011 range of bikes and apparel, a 20 years of Hinckley Exhibition, live interviews and competitions hosted by Suzi Perry, a Triumph race bike display, road demo rides and slow speed skills plus "the chance to challenge your mates to an off road segway race or test your mettle with the Vertical Trix wheelie-machine".

Triumph's factory in nearby Hinckley will be open to ticket holders and the day will be topped off with a live music programme headlined by rock legends The Stranglers and supported by rising stars, Mumford & Sons. Three more support acts are being chosen by Triumph customers through an innovative online competition.

The deal will see IHG provide assistance at all levels of swimming from corporate events through to member support. As the Official Hotel Provider of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, IHG says it is pleased to be delivering further value to a recognised Olympic sport.

Christopher Hale, IHG Head of London 2012, said: "We all know the value of a good night's sleep and a comfortable relaxed environment. We hope that this partnership will deliver well-rested swimmers and staff to help bring success to swimming at all levels.

"IHG are proud to be the official hotel provider for British Swimming and look forward to welcoming the athletes, families, staff and club members into our hotels".

Katie Brazier, Director of Sponsorship at British Swimming, said: "We are delighted to welcome IHG to our sponsorship family and look forward to working in partnership with them.

"As Official Sleep Provider we hope that they will provide our athletes, staff and club members with the quality rest that they need to perform to their best".

To celebrate the launch of the partnership IHG are offering free swimming for children throughout August and September 2010.

Tall Ships Project Manager Michelle Daurat said: "We have an on-going commitment to plan and deliver the event according to the British Standard(BS) 8901 framework for Sustainable Event Management and the cycling initiative fits perfectly with that.

"We have been working closely with Sustrans, the UK's leading sustainable transport charity, to develop cycle routes to the event site and we would actively encourage people to use them".

Phil Roxburgh, HSBC branch manager in Hartlepool, said: "We are delighted to be sponsoring The Tall Ships Races cycle initiative, which reflects our corporate commitment to sustainable business initiatives that safeguard the environment.

"HSBC was the first carbon neutral UK top 100 company and we are a Sunday Times top 60 Green Business. We are also an integral part of some of the biggest environmental projects in the world, working alongside respected organisations such as the WWF, Earthwatch and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, as the HSBC Climate Partnership.

"This is a ground-breaking five-year partnership that aims to tackle climate change by inspiring action by individuals, businesses and governments worldwide. It's really exciting that Tall Ships is not only a green event in itself but that we can add to that by working with Sustrans to ensure there are accessible and safe cycle routes".

Neil Mitchell, Area Manager for Sustrans in the Tees Valley, added: "I have received an increasing number of calls in recent days from people saying that they intend to travel to The Tall Ships Races by bike, so it's important that they can do so easily and safely. The routes and storage facility have been designed with this in mind".