Barclaycard World Freerun Championships to hit Trafalgar Square

The second Barclaycard World Freerun Championships, which is due to take place on 5th August, will see London's Trafalgar Square transformed as it attracts competitors from around the globe.

The event which is now in its second year is the foremost international competition for the rapidly expanding urban sport of freerunning, and is set to attract up to 7000 fans to Trafalgar Square.

For one night only, 27 freerunners representing 17 different countries across five continents will tackle a specially designed course in Trafalgar Square that will enable them to showcase their creativity and the excitement and physicality of freerunning.

Although capacity for the event is limited to 7,000, tickets will be made available free of charge to fans via the Barclaycard World Freerun Facebook page from mid-July.

The event will be supported by a major promotional campaign from Barclaycard that will encourage people to 'see London differently', through the eyes of a freerunner, with ordinary architectural features and street furniture becoming obstacles to be overcome.

Among the competitors will be the inaugural Barclaycard World Freerun champion, Gabriel 'Jaywalker' Nunez from the United States who triumphed at the 2008 event held at Camden's Roundhouse. He will face stiff opposition this year from an even stronger field that includes British hopefuls Paul 'Blue Devil' Joseph, George 'G-Force' Mayfield and Tim 'Livewire' Shieff, runner up to Nunez at last year's event. Other names to watch out for include Pavels 'Pasha' Petkuns of Latvia, Austrian Andrej 'N-D' Lisal, Jason Paul from Germany, Mexico's Erick 'Daer' Sanchez, Bulgaria's Delian Dimitrov and Nunez' countryman Victor 'Showtime' Lopez.

On the day, each athlete will perform to his own individual soundtrack and be judged according to four, distinct criteria: technical difficulty, execution, creativity and fluidity.

Dan Mathieson, Head of Sponsorship at Barclaycard, the title sponsor of the World Freerun Championships said: "Freerunning is a really innovative sport that is starting to gain some really strong exposure. The moves executed by the top performers are truly breathtaking and, for Barclaycard, the fluidity of movement at the very heart of freerunning has a clear parallel with the freedom that we give our customers through such innovations as contactless payments. We're proud to be continuing our support for the Barclaycard World Freerun Championships and excited that it is taking place in such an iconic venue as Trafalgar Square".

Championship organisers, World Freerun Ents have an upbeat view of Barclaycard's involvement. "World-class brands have been getting more and more into the freerun thing" says Championship spokesman and Urban Freeflow supremo, Ez, "but we always make sure that we are comfortable with any commercial tie-ups and that they make sense for the freerun lifestyle. The clincher for us has been that, starting with the amazing success of last year`s event, Barclaycard's global ambitions for the sport match our own."

Ends

Notes to Editors

About Barclaycard

Barclaycard, part of Barclays Global and Retail Commercial Banking division, is a leading global payment business which helps consumers, retailers and businesses to make and accept credit card payments flexibly, and to access short-term credit when needed.

The company is one of the pioneers of new forms of credit card payments and is at the forefront of developing viable contactless and mobile payment schemes for today and cutting edge forms of payment for the future. It also issues credit and charge cards to corporate customers and the UK Government. Barclaycard partners with a wide range of organisations across the globe to offer their customers or members payment options and credit.

In addition to the UK, Barclaycard operates in the United States, Europe, Africa and the Middle and Far East.

Barclaycard PR Contact:
Andrew Bond
Barclaycard Press Office
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www.barclaycard.co.uk