Q&A with London Sport Awards judge Keith Bottomley

Nominations for the London Sport Awards, in association with the City of London Corporation, are open and we’ve been delighted with the response from partners and the wider sector throughout London.

The deadline to nominate your organisation, or to put forward that incredible individual or partner organisation, is Thursday 15 July at which point our Awards judges face some tricky decisions.

One such judge is Keith Bottomley an elected Member of the City of London Corporation who is widely involved in leading on youth, education, climate action, environment and broader policy agendas.

Keith is Vice Chair of the City of London Corporation’s Policy and Resources Committee and is passionate about advancing the interests of young people and about skills and education.

We spoke to Keith to learn more about his expectations for the London Sport Awards and why he’s particularly excited to see nominations for The Business Contribution Award.

Why did you want to be involved with the London Sport Awards?

The London Sport Awards are a great celebration of a hugely important part of our day-to-day lives and our culture in London and I’m looking forward to everyone being together face-to-face in the Guildhall in December for a big celebration of the importance and the benefit of physical activity and sport.

What do you want to see in a high-quality London Sport Awards nomination?

The best nominations for the London Sport Awards will be a clear, concise and compelling story and what I am looking for, as a judge, is the number of people that have benefitted, the way in which people have benefitted, and clear evidence and examples of the positive effect that people’s services and projects have had in a really impacting and positive way on the lives on Londoners

What is the Business Contribution Award in association with City of London Corporation?

The Business Contribution Award at the London Sport Award recognises the huge contribution that businesses of all sizes have made to support physical activity and sport in so many ways, whether that’s providing sponsorship, support or resources. 

Businesses have a responsibility because physical activity and sport does not operate in isolation - that has been proven more starkly than ever during the pandemic. The City of London Corporation is very proud to be supporting the Business Contribution Award to recognise the huge contribution that businesses make across London.

Why should businesses enter?

The Award really shines a spotlight on how businesses make a huge contribution to encouraging and facilitating physical activity and sport, and last year we saw nominations from UBS and Standard Chartered, among others. This Award shines a spotlight on the importance and the role that businesses can have on facilitating and encouraging more and greater access to physical activity and sport.

What are you hoping to see in the Business Contribution Award this year?

I’m hoping for a really diverse set of nominations this year from businesses that have worked with boroughs across London, whether that is sponsoring access to physical activity within their local community or involvement in mass participation events. We want to shine a spotlight on differences that business can make in Londoners’ access to physical activity and sport.

To submit your nomination for the London Sport Awards, click here.