Event Outline
The BBC Radio Lancashire
Olympic Bike Ride was a 5 day cycle ride from the Olympic Stadium
in London to Preston City Centre was organised as part of the Sport
Relief campaign in March 2012.
Originating from the Children in Need Tower to Tower Ride we
organised for Breakfast Show and North West Tonight presenter
Graham Liver, the event started with a phone call from Graham to
company Director Mark Sandamas, "Hi Mark, I've a daft idea for a
follow up.....involving a tandem..."
Each day a different personality joined in on the 'stoking'
position on the tandem behind Graham on the 250mile ride. These
included ex-Blackburn Rovers and Scotland footballer Kevin
Gallacher, BBC Presenter Roger Johnson and comedians and fellow
presenters Ted Robbins and Steve Royle.
Pennine Events Director Mark Sandamas, rode with them acting as
guide, mentor, coach, mechanic and all-round skivvy, with us also
providing a route support driver.
The key aspect of the event was Graham continuing to present and
broadcast his morning breakfast show before riding and making
numerous live feeds on radio throughout each day. A number of parts
of the ride were broadcast on TV with a live radio show and crowd
at the finish.
Client
BBC Radio Lancashire were the client choosing Pennine Events
because of our success with the Tower to Tower Ride and our
expertise in cycling, especially with route planning and ride
management.
Event Aims / Objectives
The event aimed to raise
money for Sport Relief with Graham Liver encouraging his radio show
listeners to text/call in and donate money each morning, along with
creating an unusual radio show experience.
Event Testimonials
"I want to say a big thank you to all the team and to
everybody who showed up to cheer me on. Riding a tandem is much
harder than you think, but we have made it!"
Graham Liver
"The ride was a huge
success, each day Graham had to wake up at the crack of dawn to
present his breakfast show, before taking to the saddle. The
tandem's second seat was occupied by a variety of celebrities,
including comedian Ted Robbins and former footballer Kevin
Gallagher to help him tackle the day's miles in
style."
Mark Sandamas, Pennine Events Managing Director
Media
Naturally the ride was heavily featured on BBC Radio Lancashire
and BBC North West along with the BBC website.
In addition to his live
broadcasts Graham and his fellow riders were regularly tweeting and
updating Facebook with pictures and comments.