The stadium was shortlisted in both the “Civic” and “Event” categories for the prestigious Bristol Life Awards on May 18th 2022.
The Civic Award highlights the “contribution of an organisation or company which has improved Bristol last year (January 2021 to December 2021).” Some new initiative which makes our city better or commitment to helping develop others, or notable charitable work. This is open to ANY company in Bristol.”
Ashton Gate entered the Civic Award for its contribution to the city as a Mass Vaccination Centre. The first one of its kind to open in the country, Ashton Gate was praised by the NHS for its quick logistical transformation and support throughout the pandemic.
Meanwhile the “Event” category, which has been scooped by Bristol Pride for the last two successive years, celebrates everything from “festivals, to community, to sporting, to corporate and all in between, events make a huge impact on the culture of a city. This can be an individual event, or a series and the judges are looking for overall impact on attendees, success of the past event and measure of this as well as how well executed it was.”
As the home of Bristol City and Bristol Bears, Ashton Gate entered this category for its contribution to the city’s calendar of sporting events. From the first half of the year when the clubs were forced to play “behind-closed-doors” to opening back up to fans and welcoming record crowds back to BS3.
Within the Bristol Sport group, two of its charities were also shortlisted for awards. The Robins Foundation selected as a finalist in the “Charity” category, whilst the Bristol Sport Foundation was named in the “Health & Well-Being” category.
The Robins Foundation which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, focused on the unique opportunities that it offers to support people that feel they’ve been written-off by society, using sport as a hook to help them get back on track. As Bristol City Football Club’s official charity it proudly uses the Club’s strong connection with its fans to develop impactful relationships with hard-to-reach communities, building trust with vulnerable individuals.
Bristol Sport Foundation was recognised in the Health & Well-Being category due to its work trying to create active, healthy, happy communities in Greater Bristol. 2021 saw a significant expansion of its school sport programme to engage children specifically in sport. Despite the challenges of Covid it never stopped delivering physical activity session and by the end of 2021 was operating in more than 50 schools across Greater Bristol and seeing 6,500 children engaging in sporting programmes each week.
The winners will be announced at a black-tie event held at Ashton Gate Stadium on May 18th.
