Cape Town, South Africa / Zug, Switzerland – Infront Sports & Media, a Wanda Sports company, has further expanded the corporate running series B2Run with three new events scheduled to take place in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, South Africa in 2017. These will be the first B2Run events outside of Europe, showing the growing success of the format and brand. Holding all rights to B2Run in South Africa, the events will be organised by sports event agency Business Run Events (PTY) Ltd – a Cape Town-based company founded by Frank Zaechel, who has extensive experience in organising and promoting mass participation events, such as the Muddy Princess Run in South Africa.
With the addition of South Africa to the popular running series roster, B2Run now spans six countries including Germany, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Switzerland. Further territories for hosting B2Run events will be announced at a later stage. The South African events are all scheduled for the second half of 2017.
As the popularity of active lifestyle continues to soar, the business hubs of Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg offer ideal locations to launch the corporate running series in South Africa.
Frank Zaechel, Founder of Business Run Events (PTY) Ltd, said: “We are happy and highly motivated to implement the very successful B2Run concept in South Africa. South Africans love sports and by promoting and introducing an active lifestyle alongside team building, colleagues can connect in a valuable way outside of the office. We are confident that the events will be well-received and we look forward to working with Infront, the leading international sports marketing company, and beginning a successful partnership.”
Hans-Peter Zurbruegg, Director Active Lifestyle & Endurance at Infront, added: “South Africa is the first non-European country in the B2Run portfolio and we are excited to meet the demands for more races globally. Sport is deeply embedded in South African culture and I am convinced that promoting the active lifestyle and the social team aspect of B2Run will be a success in the three host cities. Our strength is our solid experience and every launch in a new country allows us to bring great active lifestyle events to new cities around the world.”
B2Run, an Infront company, is Europe’s largest corporate running series and has recorded significant growth since it was founded in 2004. In 2017, the 6km runs will be held in German, Swiss, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish and South African cities, offering companies attractive platforms for unique employee events. In Germany, the country where it originated, B2Run is the fastest-growing and largest running series, targeting a record attendance of approximately 195,000 participants from over 9,500 companies with 17 events in 2017.
Infront Sports & Media, a Wanda Sports company, is one of the most respected sports marketing companies in the world, managing a comprehensive portfolio of top properties. Led by President & CEO Philippe Blatter, Infront covers all aspects of successful sporting events – including distribution of media rights, sponsorship, media production, event operation and digital solutions – and has won a reputation for its high standards of delivery. As the number one player in winter sport and with a leading role in football, summer and endurance sports, Infront enjoys long-lasting partnerships with close to 170 rights-holders and hundreds of sponsors and media companies. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Infront has a team of more than 900 experienced staff working from over 35 offices across more than 15 countries, delivering 4,100 event days of top class sport around the world every year. In November 2015, Infront was integrated into Wanda Sports Holding, part of the Chinese conglomerate the Dalian Wanda Group.