Sport Relief Saturday, an annual charity event that raises money to tackle poverty through sport and entertainment, took place on 15 July 2006.
At the heart of the campaign was the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile, where the entire country was urged to run one mile to raise money to help vulnerable people both in the UK and overseas.
How the money is spent
Sport Relief has raised over ￡30 million since 2002, when it was first held. Half of this money has been spent in the UK to help give those living in disadvantaged and divided communities a better life.
The other half helps children in some of the world’s poorest countries, such as India and Guatemala, to deal with the daily reality of extreme poverty, abuse and exploitation.
Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Miles
Fifteen major cities, ranging from Glasgow in Scotland to Plymouth in Devon, hosted runs where thousands of people turned up to support the cause.
Numerous other towns around the country, such as Chelmsford, Pinner and Bulphan, held local Sport Relief Miles for people who couldn’t make it to one of the major events.
Special contributions
Not everyone who contributed to Sport Relief did so by running a mile. Some Scottish sailors from HM Naval Base Clyde signed up to take part by rowing or cycling one mile each using HMS Vigilant’s gym.
In a variation on running a traditional mile, five trolley pushers from Plymouth completed their run around the aisles of a local Sainsbury’s supermarket. The price of the goods that they collected in their trolleys in this time was also donated to Sport Relief.
The Superswim
Comedian David Walliams, from Little Britain, dodged tankers and ploughed through sewage and seaweed to successfully swim the Channel between England and France with the aim of raising ￡500,000.
Aled, a co-presenter on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Chris Moyles, learned how to swim in time for the big day and swam 64 lengths of his local swimming pool.
Pitching in with support
A national ‘Nearest the Pin’ competition, sponsored by Lloyds TSB Corporate, in which golfers have one shot to get as near as they can to the flag, also contributed funds towards Sport Relief.
As an incentive for people to enter, the club that donated the most money received a visit from Olympic legend Sir Steven Redgrave, while other prizes on offer included tickets to September’s Ryder Cup and a round of golf with Colin Montgomerie.
Special TV programmes
Television programmes leading up to Sport Relief Saturday included a two-part documentary following a celebrity cricket team on a tour of India and Only Fools on Horses, where ten celebrities battled it out in a show-jumping competition.
The BBC completed its coverage of Sport Relief with a five-hour TV special on 15 July. There is no doubt that Sport Relief has once again been a huge success, and people all over the world will benefit from the generosity of all of those who took part.
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