NEWCASTLE’S GOT TALENT – ANT AND DEC TO KICK OFF BUPA 30TH GREAT NORTH RUN

Newcastle’s most famous double act, Ant and Dec, the award winning television presenting duo, will return to their native North East on Sunday 19 September, to officially start the Bupa 30th Great North Run.

The Geordie twosome will wave off the 54,000 runners in Newcastle as runners set off on their 13.1 mile journey to the finish line at South Shields. Previous starters of the Bupa Great North Run, which is televised live on BBC One, have included Sir Bobby Robson, Dame Kelly Holmes, Jackie Charlton, Frank Williams, Jonathan Edwards , Dame Tanni Grey Thompson and rock star Sting last year. Following an invitation from Bupa Great North Run founder, Brendan Foster, both Ant and Dec were delighted to be asked to start the world’s largest half marathon. Ant commented, “It’s a great honour for us to be asked by Brendan to be the starters of the Bupa Great North Run. We’re just relieved he didn’t ask us to run it!” Meanwhile Dec dropped a hint about the pair’s future involvement in the race, saying: “It is something the North East is very proud of and we’re really looking forward to being involved in the 30th event. Who knows, one day we both might run it, although I’d clearly finish well ahead of Ant.” Ends For further information: nicola.hedley@nova-international.com 0191 2263231 Editors notes Nova International The Bupa Great North Run is brought to you event organisers Nova International and is sponsored by Bupa. Nova International, headed by Olympic Medallist Brendan Foster is one of the UK’s leading event management and sports marketing agencies. The company’s current brand portfolio also includes some of the biggest running events in the world all based on the Great North Run, the world’s largest half marathon with over 54,000 entries. Nova International was established in 1988 and has a strong sporting pedigree. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Nova have established themselves as a market leader in the world of sports marketing and event management. For more information please visit www.greatrun.org. In The Long Run… 30 Years of the Great North Run Celebrating the 30th staging of the Bupa Great North Run, this major new exhibition explores this enormously popular event. In The Long Run… 30 Years of the Great North Run looks at the significant role this event has played in reflecting and shaping the region's cultural identity. As well as the well known stories of elite runners, In The Long Run will also explore the huge organisational effort behind the Bupa Great North Run, documenting the event’s community spirit and creating a powerful piece of social history. Alongside interactive exhibits, memorabilia and star objects, In The Long Run will present artwork from the archives of Bupa Great North Run Culture and new commissions will be presented by Sir Peter Blake and Claire Leona Apps. About Bupa Bupa’s purpose is to help people lead longer, healthier, happier lives. A leading international healthcare group, we offer personal and company health insurance, run care homes for older people and hospitals, and provide workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services, including health coaching, and home healthcare. With no shareholders, we invest our profits to provide more and better healthcare. We are committed to making quality, patient-centred, affordable healthcare more accessible in the areas of wellness, chronic disease management and ageing. Employing over 50,000 people, Bupa has operations around the world, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and the USA, as well as Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and across Latin America. For more information, visit www.bupa.com

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