February saw Beazley unveil its partnership with Hillier Nurseries and Garden Centres at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show, to bring a fencing themed garden exhibit entitled ‘Duel and the Crown’ to the 2012 exhibition.
Beazley is a sponsor of the British Fencing Team and this collaboration celebrates the Olympic sport of fencing and aims to bring this competition to life through plant and garden design. In addition, the exhibit will feature live fencing displays by members of the Beazley British Fencing team.
The fencing exhibit will also be a tribute to Her Majesty the Queen, the Patron of British Fencing, as the nation prepares to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee.
“People may ask why we are seeking to combine fencing and horticulture, but for us the link is clear. Fencing is an elegant, stylish sport and by aligning it with the Chelsea Flower Show we are expressing the artistry of the sport in a unique and interesting way,” says Beazley CEO Andrew Horton. “We are proud of our sponsorship of British Fencing and we hope that people find the link-up with Chelsea engaging and thought-provoking.”
Beazley’s link with Hillier at the flower show provides the sport of fencing with a unique pre-Olympic platform to engage with a new audience
Andrew McIndoe, Managing Director of Hillier Nurseries said: “We are delighted to be working with Beazley and British Fencing on our Garden Exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. As a proudly British company, we often look outside horticulture for inspirational collaborations, and in 2012 the Beazley British Fencing team gives us a dramatic and topical theme as we enter a year of national celebration.”
Comment
The twin audiences of horticulturalists and fencers may seem like unusual bedfellows – but the demographic cohort of fencing and the Chelsea Flower Show does eem to be a good socio-economic fit.
Indeed, this will be fencing’s return to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show site, where tournaments were regularly fought at Ranelagh Gardens until 1939. The Epée Club still fight for the Ranelagh Cup in the grounds of the Hurlingham Club every summer.
The campaign will also bring in to focus some of the rules surrounding London 2012 Olympic legislation. After all, the Chelsea Flower Show, which has been up and running in one form or another since 1833, is a London based event that offers gold, silver and bronze medals. And using a combination of these words in an event’s marketing theoretically contravenes the Olympic legislation.
Go figure!
Links:
http://www.britishfencing.com/
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