HARMONDSWORTH, England,
July 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
British Airways has announced that it will be showing a
selection of the best sports films as voted by Team GB and
ParalympicsGB, for customers flying during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The athletes nominated over 30 titles, including their
favourite, 'Coach Carter', a basketball film featuring Samuel L. Jackson, ahead of 'Cool Runnings',
which took second place.
Oliver Stone's award winning 'Any
Given Sunday' took bronze and was nominated by a number of athletes
including Gymnast Louis Smith. Triathlete Helen Jenkins voted for
the boxing classic 'Rocky', while three times Olympic Champion
Ben Ainslie swaps water for the
track with his preference for the recent Formula One documentary
'Senna'.
The athletes nominated a wide range of sports, from football to
Formula One. Other nominations included: 'Chariots of Fire',
'Dodgeball', 'Goal', 'Bend it like Beckham', 'Remember the Titans',
'Million Dollar Baby', 'Wimbledon', 'Jerry Maguire', 'Invincible',
'Happy Gilmore' and 'Rumble in the Jungle'.
Some of the more unusual titles nominated included 'Teen Wolf',
'Space Jam', 'Blue Crush', 'Robin Hood' and 'The Water Boy'.
Team GB rower, Zac Purchase said:
"I don't think you can get better then Al
Pacino's 'inches' speech in 'Any Given Sunday'. It's such a
poignant moment, with many true parallels with the way each and
every sports person across the world prepares for the performance
of their lives."
In comparison, British Airways Facebook users voted for
'Chariots of Fire' as their all time favourite sports movie,
closely followed by classics 'Cool Runnings' and 'Rocky'.
British Airways sponsorship manager, Luisa Fernandez, said: "We know that customers
love catching up on films when they fly, and now they have the
opportunity to re-live some of the classic sports films of all time
in preparation for the London 2012
Games."
Customers on board flights this summer will also be able to
enjoy an exclusive Olympic-inspired menu created by Michelin star
chef Simon Hulstone, who worked with Heston
Blumenthal on the project. To complement the menu is a
specially commissioned on-board soundtrack which customers can tune
in to, featuring uplifting music and commentary from iconic British
moments from previous Games, to enhance the dining experience.
Along with classic sporting films, the airline is also showing
'Fast Girls', a new British film following the women's 4x100 metres
relay team. There is also a dedicated sports channel which includes
a number of Olympic and Paralympic related programmes, such as the
'Journey to London 2012'.
Finally, customers flying over the summer will be able to watch
the short film 'BOY' produced exclusively for British Airways. It
was written by up-and-coming writer Prasanna Puwanarajah, who was
mentored by Richard E Grant in the BA Great Britons programme. It
features much-loved British actor Timothy
Spall and was filmed in the Velodrome in the Olympic
Park.
The airline is encouraging the nation to get behind the UK
athletes this summer by tweeting their support using the hashtag
#HomeAdvantage.
About British Airways:
British Airways plc offers a wide range of worldwide
destinations - including holidays in Toronto, holidays in Maldives,
holidays in Nice as well as Belfast flights and flights to Las
Vegas. Customers can save time and money with ba.com when booking
ATOL protected holiday packages, ATOL number is 5985. Passengers
are offered added peace of mind to their holiday plans and the
security of travelling with British Airways. British Airways plc
constantly seeks to exceed customers' expectations, both in terms
of the value for money and quality of the service provided.
Press Contact:
Sophia Antoniades
Waterside
PO Box 365
Harmondsworth
Middlesex
UB7 0GB
+44(0)2087385100
http://www.ba.com
