Madonna No.1 on list to help set another record
A shortlist to find the celebrity face of next year’s Tesco sponsored Race for Life has been drawn up by the retailer to build on the resounding success of the 2002 national network of races for women.
The list, headed by Madonna, which also includes household names like Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Nigella Lawson, Kelly Brook and Dame Edna Everage, will help make Race for Life 2003 another record year for Cancer Research UK.
Over 250,000 women took part in the 100 races up and down the country, and raised a massive £15m for Cancer Research UK. Tesco accounted for 22% of entries Race for Life 2002 was the 9th year of the event - the first year with Tesco sponsorship - and was the most successful year ever.
Tim Mason, Marketing Director at Tesco explained:
" The search for a celebrity to head up next year’s Tesco sponsored Race for Life is on. This year has been the best by far but we want to build on this success, and reach even more people. Having a famous figure-head gives a huge boost to the runners, and helps raise record amounts of cash.
" There are many celebrities who would add a great deal of value to the Tesco sponsored Race for Life campaign. Madonna has the ultimate female profile – hugely successful, instantly recognisable to all ages and social groups, and health conscious. For these reasons Madonna is number 1 on our list to be the ‘Face of the Race’ for 2003.
" Surpassing the record-breaking success of the 2002 Race for Life will not be an easy task. We helped raise over £15m for Cancer Research UK, with 60% more runners than the year before. In the previous 8 years, the races raised a total of £20m, which puts into context how successful 2002 has been.
" I was proud to see that an army of almost 17,000 Tesco employees did their bit by raising over £500,000, and covered a whopping 84,000 kilometres in the process. All sponsorship money collected by staff will be ‘topped-up’ with another 20% by Tesco."
Cancer Research UK Race for Life Director, Rachel Roxborough said:
" Cancer Research UK were thrilled to have Tesco as their new national sponsor for the 2002 Race for Life series, and also to see how committed Tesco and its staff were to the event. We were amazed to see so many staff take part, but more importantly to see the tremendous amount staff raised for Cancer Research UK."
Notes for Editors
1. The list of celebrities being considered to be the ‘Face of the Race’ includes Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Nell McAndrew, Dame Edna Everage, Holly Valance, Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Jordan, Nigella Lawson, Charlotte Church, Kelly Brook, Barbara Windsor, Davina McCall, the Appleton sisters, Liz Hurley, Jerry Hall and Shirley Bassey.
2. Race for Life is a nation-wide network of 100 races organised by Cancer Research UK and sponsored by Tesco.
3. Objectives for this year’s Race for Life were to raise £12 million, and have 250,000 women taking part – 90,000 more than ever before. Both of these objectives were exceeded.
4. To help recruit staff and shoppers, Tesco had a dedicated army of 500 in-store Ambassadors up and down the country. Tesco delivered 22% of all entries – over 55,000 people.
5. One in three people will get cancer at some point in their lifetime. One in four will die from the disease. One in nine UK women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some time in their lives.
