TCS signs five year title sponsorship deal with London Marathon

After sponsoring New York Marathon for years, Indian tech giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will be sponsoring another global marathon. The London Marathon has confirmed that TCS will be the title sponsor for the event from 2022 on Tuesday. This announcement came after Virgin money stepped down as title sponsor, ending their 11-year association this year. The deal will see TCS getting the title rights of the event until 2027.

The London Marathon has been a historic event across Europe, with some of the world’s best athletes participating in the tournament. Since 2006, the elite race in London has been part of the World Marathon Majors, which includes six of the world’s top-level marathon races.

TCS played a pivotal role in the London Marathon by updating the official event app developed in 2019. TCS also played an integral part in developing a solution for virtually hosting the marathon last year due to the pandemic where runners could complete the race anywhere in the world. 

TCS, which has been the technology partner of the event since 2016, will be the seventh title sponsor of the London Marathon in its 40-year history, following Gillette, Mars, ADT, NutraSweet, and Flora. 

Hugh Brasher, event director of London’s Marathon Events, said, “This is a landmark day in our history. We look forward to working with TCS to evolve and grow our digital reach, inspire millions more to become active, and develop opportunities to raise even more for charities.” 

TCS has also mentioned that it will use digital innovation to enhance the event experience for all future races, which will continue to be a hybrid of physical and virtual events. For this year’s edition, organizers are hoping to attract a record 50,000 runners to race across London, with a further 50,000 participating virtually all around the world.