Energy firm pulls the plug on Bike Week

Bike Week, to be staged 16-24 June 2012, is after a new sponsor. EDF, the French energy group, will not be the headline sponsor in 2012.

Bike Week is an annual celebration of cycling. A press release issued by the organisers of Bike Week, said: "[Bike Week] provides a unique opportunity to promote and demonstrate the social, environmental and health benefits of cycling. The UK-wide celebration seeks to encourage and enable everyone to incorporate cycling into their everyday life, whether it be the school run, or a bike ride to the shops or just for fun or sport." 

The release added: "Bike Week offers events for everyone; from families, schools and companies, to seasoned cyclists and those who have never cycled before."

Bike Week was first staged in 1923. In recent years Bike Week has benefited from sponsorship from Nokia, and most recently, been a headline event in EDF Energy’s Team Green Britain campaign. 

Bike Week this year hosted ‘Britain’s Biggest Bike Fix’ – an attempt to fix as many bikes as possible during one week. An estimated 26,100 bikes were fixed at events nationwide.

Phillip Darnton, a Bike Week board member, said: “Bike Week is one of those rare things, a mass-participation event organised and inspired by the community for the community. With more people taking to their bikes every day, Bike Week provides a unique platform for brands and organisations to engage on and offline with thousands of people up and down the country. 

"We are looking for appropriate partners to help us further develop this national celebration and help create an active legacy, which offers so much to individuals, communities, the sport of cycling and society as a whole.” 

The cycle industry supports Bike Week through the Bike Hub levy scheme. Bike Week also receives funding from Cycling Scotland with support from the Scottish Government, Northern Ireland Executive, Transport for London and the Welsh Assembly Government.

Organisation partners include the Bicycle Association, Association of Cycle Traders, British Cycling, Cycling Scotland, Sustrans, CTC and Cyclenation.

Sponsorship and commercial partnership enquiries are to be directed to frank.davis@limelightsports.com on 0207 2994773