TCS, London Marathon sign new six-year deal

Announcing yet another extension of its partnership with London Marathon, Tata Consultancy Services on Tuesday said it will become the title partner of the racing event from 2022. 

TCS said in a statement that it will serve as London Marathon’s event partner in a new deal signing that extends to six years. The 2021 edition, Virgin Money London Marathon, is scheduled on October 3. 

“TCS has a historic track record with major marathons across the world, including New York, Amsterdam, Singapore, and Mumbai. London will be the second Abbott World Marathon Major where TCS is title partner and the fourth where TCS is partner, as well as its seventh title partnership globally,” the company said in a statement. 

The Mumbai based information technology services provider has been partnering with the London based entity since 2016. In the last announced partnership, TCS had said it would implement a new data lake using Microsoft Azure to help the improve customer experience, in December. 

TCS has also developed an official event app that allowed participants and spectators to get the London Marathon experience. In 2020, TCS updated the app to support participants in the first virtual London Marathon during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

TCS now plans to further digitise the single-day annual fundraising event to sustain a hybrid nature of physical and virtual. The 2020 expects 50,000 runners to participate in the mass participation event from Blackheath to The Mall, and another 50,000 in the virtual version. TCS expects to help London Marathon to turn itself more accessible and inclusive, amplify fundraising efforts, drive healthy lifestyles, with the use of data.  

“We are delighted to welcome TCS as the new title partner of the London Marathon from 2022... TCS has been an integral part of the Marathon for the past five years, delivering the latest technology to enhance the marathon experience for participants and spectators,” Hugh Brasher, event director of London Marathon said. 

The 40th race, on October 4, 2020, saw the participation of 38,000 runners with virtual logins on the TCS app. The counted few elite racers (non-virtual runners) raced on a biosecure closed-loop circuit. All non-elite athletes picked their own 26.2-mile courses. Participants logged their progress on an app to make their timing official and secure medals.   

The first London Marathon was first held on March 29, 1981, and the millionth finisher in the history of the event crossed the line in 2016. In 2019, the Virgin Money London Marathon raised £66.4 million for charity, setting a new Guinness World Record for an annual one-day charity fundraising event for a 13th successive year. This brought the total raised for charity since 1981 to more than £1 billion. 

London Marathon Events gifts its surplus each year to The London Marathon Charitable Trust. Since 1981, The London Marathon Charitable Trust has awarded grants totalling in excess of £92 million to over 1,470 projects in London and other areas across Britain. 

TCS is one among Britain’s largest job creators, as per the statement. In February, the company said it will recruit 1,500 technology employees across the country in 2022.