London Sport gets behind RED January 2021

With just a few weeks to go until the start of 2021, London Sport are delighted to announce that we will be offering our support to the ground-breaking RED January campaign this year. 

Since starting out in 2016, RED January has helped over 150,000 people across the country to get active during the cold winter months and to provide critical support and community at a time where the impacts of poor mental health can be most keenly felt.

As well as inspiring people to get active during the cold winter months, the RED January community have also raised more than £2.7m of vital funds for mental health charities, with fundraising from this year’s campaign going to support the work of physical activity and mental health charity, Sport in Mind.

Participants are encouraged to get active, in whatever way suits them, every day from 1 – 31 January, helping to stave off the January blues and becoming part of a vibrant, global RED January community.

Research conducted by RED January and the University of Oxford found that more than 50% of RED January 2020 participants experienced less stress and reduced signs of depressive symptoms, and 32% of participants moved from being inactive to fairly active – helping to break down one of the hardest steps to sustained physical activity.

London Sport and RED January first began working together in 2019 when they were part of the third cohort of Sport Tech Hub ventures.

Having worked closely with RED January founder Hannah Beecham - a guest speaker at the London Sport Awards 2020 - over the past two years, we are thrilled to be supporting RED January in 2021. 

As part of our backing of the campaign, we will be working alongside RED January to generate a better understanding of the motivating factors that keep Londoners connected to physical activity campaigns, in an effort to better understand how major movements like RED January can spark sustained physical activity throughout the year.

Last year, more than 4,000 Londoners signed up to be a part of RED January 2020 including a number of London Sport staff members, and we’re encouraging any organisation, club or project working in London to consider getting 2021 off to the brightest possible start by getting involved with the growing RED January movement.

We’ll be sharing content from the campaign throughout December and January and will continue to revisit the positive impact of RED January on Londoners’ lives throughout 2021.

For more information on RED January and to sign-up as a participant, visit www.redtogether.co.uk or find out more about the RED community on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.