4 May 2016: ParkLives, the community programme from Coca-Cola Great Britain offering free and fun activity sessions in parks and open spaces, is back for the third year with more cities taking part than ever before.

This year sees four new cities join the programme with Southampton, Stoke-On-Trent, Dundee and Swansea joining Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Nottingham, Newcastle and Newham (London) as the scheme goes nationwide.

In addition to the ten main cities across the UK, ParkLives will also expand to other towns across the UK through StreetGames, the charity which brings doorstep sport to young people in disadvantaged communities across the UK. Coca-Cola GB has worked with StreetGames since 2010 bringing doorstep sport to more than 300,000 young people across the UK.

Delivered in partnership with local authorities, ParkLives encourages people to get outdoors, make the most of their local parks, meet new people and enjoy new experiences – all while inspiring them to feel good and be a little more active. This year more than 200 parks, green spaces and golf courses will be offering free sessions as part of the programme.

ParkLives had over 75,000 participants last year and the programme aims to build on this success with more locations and activities on offer in 2016. New sessions such as bat walks, paddle boarding and walking-football, alongside returning favourites including Zumba, Tai Chi and roller-skating. The timetabled sessions are an hour long and led by a trained activity leader from the local area. A full timetable can be found at www.parklives.com.

Liz Lowe, ParkLives lead at Coca-Cola Great Britain said: “ParkLives is all about bringing communities together to enjoy fun, free activities in their local green spaces. With brand new activities and more parks taking part, ParkLives is set to be even bigger and better in 2016. It’s an opportunity to get out there and try something new with your friends and family, have fun and be active in the great outdoors.  For many years we have supported programmes that invest in the wellbeing of local communities – and ParkLives is a long-term partnership programme which does just that. Now in its third year, it’s fantastic to see the programme go from strength to strength and expand nationwide to ten cities across the UK.”

ParkLives launched in 2014 and is part of a £20 million commitment by Coca-Cola Great Britain to invest in community-based projects that help people be active. The programme now runs in ten cities across the UK including Birmingham, Dundee, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Newham (London), Swansea, Southampton and Stoke-On-Trent.

A full timetable – including a postcode-led local park finder – can be found at www.parklives.com where people can register to book a free activity session for themselves, as well as friends and family.

ENDS

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Notes to editors:

Media contacts

For supporting imagery and interviews, please contact:

Rachael Stone, Coca-Cola GB : rastone@coca-cola.com, 0208 237 3218

About ParkLives:

ParkLives, created by Coca-Cola Great Britain is an exciting programme of daily fun and free activities that encourages people across the UK to get outdoors and enjoy the parks and green spaces in their local community. Now in its third year, the programme runs in ten cities nationwide as well as reaching 35 further locations through a partnership with Coca-Cola Great Britain’s long-standing charity partner, StreetGames (www.streetgames.org) and their doorstep sports club network in England, Scotland and Wales.

Delivered in partnership with local authorities and StreetGames, ParkLives encourages people to get outdoors, make the most of their local parks, meet new people and enjoy new experiences – all while inspiring people to take advantage of the mood-boosting benefits of being in green space.

Running on a daily basis throughout the spring and summer months, ParkLives’ roster of free activities will evolve with local demand to meet the needs of the local communities the programme serves.  Bringing together the regional insight and expertise of local authorities with the communications expertise and funding from Coca-Cola Great Britain, the programme aims to break down some of the often-cited barriers to participating in physical activity: cost, distance, lack of suitable and engaging provision and an absence of people to participate with.

ParkLives is part of Coca-Cola Great Britain’s long-term commitment to inspire one million people to be more active.

ParkLives is running in 10 cities and towns in 2016, including:

  • Birmingham
  • Dundee
  • Glasgow
  • Manchester
  • Newcastle
  • London Borough of Newham
  • Nottingham
  • Southampton
  • Stoke-on-Trent
  • Swansea

For more information visit: www.parklives.com