London Sport and The Great Outdoor Gym Company have today confirmed details of a new partnership aiming to transform the way Londoners get active in outdoor environments around the capital.
The two organisations have committed to work together to support Local Authorities in London to develop new outdoor preventative health hubs for London’s residents, workers and visitors, built around outdoor gyms designed to enhance the use of the capital’s underutilised outdoor spaces.
Building on The Great Outdoor Gym Company’s existing model, which has seen more than 1,100 outdoor gyms installed globally, the partnership will see London Sport support efforts to create new activity spaces across London. The outdoor gym equipment, which is constructed from recycled materials, has proven successful in supporting a range of communities across the UK to be more physically active, with activity on sites also generating energy that charges phones, lights and even buildings.
The partnership announcement comes a month on from London Sport’s landmark Active London conference, which saw The Great Outdoor Gym Company lead sessions around innovation in the use of London’s environment to support and enable increased levels of physical activity and sport, and is part of a wider focus from The Great Outdoor Gym Company to support reductions in lifestyle-related diseases and illnesses.
Commenting on the partnership, Matt Roebuck, London Sport Relationship Manager, said:
We are really excited to work with The Great Outdoor Gym Company as part of our efforts to help more Londoners to live and benefit from active lives. As the nation’s most populous city, London faces particular challenges around the availability and use of space for play and activity. This partnership will help us to explore innovative ways to make new use of outdoor spaces, and hopefully contribute to a long-term increase in physical activity levels across the capital.
Dean Hill, Head of Active Cities, The Great Outdoor Gym Company, said:
The Great Outdoor Gym Company (TGO) are pleased and proud to partner with London Sport to help provide communities across London with new opportunities to get active and healthy in the capital’s outdoor spaces.
We have been working in and around London for ten years, and our outdoor gyms are an affordable and sustainable way to enable communities to better manage and improve their health and wellness. This exciting partnership with London Sport, who share our belief in the power of innovation and collaboration to achieve increased levels of activity, will help to step up activation opportunities around new and existing spaces as we work together to make London the most active city in the world.
The partnership will get underway immediately, with both organisations committing to showcasing the impact of outdoor gyms on communities across the capital in the months to come.
