British Airways to end its sponsorship of The London Eye

British Airways is terminating its sponsorship contract with The London Eye, with effect from next month. The decision brings to an end a deal which has been in place for the eight years since the opening of The London Eye in March 2000. BA was a joint shareholder with Marks Barfield Architects and The Tussauds Group until November 2005. Commenting on the decision, David Sharpe, Managing Director of The London Eye said: "The London Eye is a unique attraction - with iconic status - and global recognition. It offers the kind of sponsorship opportunities which are second to none, particularly as we move towards 2012 - a position which has been greatly underlined by the level of interest shown as organisations have become aware that we were reviewing our sponsorship deals. 2008 marks a new, and very exciting phase of our development, including the possibility of taking the 'magic' of the London Eye to other cities internationally - an ambition which is much closer now that we are part of the Merlin Entertainments Group - the world's second biggest visitor attraction operator in the world." "Our partnership with British Airways played an important role in our development", he continued, "particularly in the early stages when they were the major investors in the project. We have greatly appreciated their support - and both sides have benefited greatly from the success of the attraction, indeed the length of this association is a measure of the London Eye's continuing appeal, and positive brand association. We are therefore now very excited at the prospect of building links with other equally high profile companies who recognise the potential for their brands." In a separate statement, The London Eye provided more details about its plans to develop new partnerships: "The London Eye - now acknowledged as one of the most visible and recognized icons of modern London around the world, confirmed this week that as part of its future growth strategy it is beginning discussions with a number of global companies with regard to developing a new and original partnership opportunity for the next five years plus - leading up to and through the Olympics. "This follows a number of approaches from companies who see The London Eye as providing a unique and cost effective branding opportunity both in the Capital, but more importantly through worldwide promotions, particularly to exploit the Olympic potential. "This will be a first for The London Eye and as such the 'partnership' package includes a wide range of options which provide mutual benefits to both parties including the possibility of joint branding of the attraction, and involvement in a series of planned high profile global and UK events. Any new relationship will also mark a new and exciting phase in The London Eye's development as part of the world's second largest visitor attraction group, Merlin Entertainments, including the possibility of taking the 'magic' of the London Eye to other cities internationally - thus providing even greater opportunities for any potential partner in the future. "The London Eye sees this new partnership as quite different from its previous link with British Airways (whose contract ends in February). That relationship stemmed from BA's original joint ownership of the attraction, and was hugely mutually beneficial for both sides through the development and early stages of The London Eye - helping to build its iconic status. However The London Eye now provides a quite different and established platform for a new commercial partner going forward and is looking to build a different and broader relationship for the future".   E&OE