Parallel wins big at the BT Sport Industry Awards 2018

Parallel London, a fully inclusive fun run and accessible family festival, has won two awards – Participation Event of the Year and the Diversity and Inclusion Award – at the highly prestigious BT Sport Industry Awards in London last night (26 April 2018).  

Founded by Andrew Douglass and created by live event and experience agency innovision, Parallel London was attended by 8,000 people last September in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The fun runs include; 10km, 5km, 1km, 100m and a Super Sensory 1km and. Its purpose is to be a catalyst for changing perceptions around disability, giving people of all abilities the opportunity to participate, side by side. Parallel London has grown in just two years to become one of the largest mass participation events that is completely inclusive.

In both categories, Parallel London beat off competition from high profile and established sporting events such as the Royal Parks Half Marathon, Premiership Rugby and London 2017. 

Founder Andrew Douglass said of the award: “I am honoured that, in our second year, we have managed to be recognised by the industry for our work in accessible sport and inclusion. I created Parallel to shine a brilliant light on the endless possibilities of inclusion and diversity. Since then, we have created an amazing community of sponsors, charities, volunteers, ambassadors and, of course, participants. This recognition is all thanks to them and I’d like to thank everyone who has supported us since our launch in 2016.”

Following the success of Parallel London 2017, 98 per cent of the audience said they would attend again. The event was covered in the BBC, ITV, Sky and The Independent. Social content was viewed by over 344,000 people and Parallel’s social channels reached over 1.5m people.