World’s biggest AIDS ribbon to be unveiled at Anfield today

During half-time in the Liverpool FC versus Southampton match today, the world’s largest AIDS ribbon will be laid out on the Anfield pitch to raise awareness for World AIDS Day 2012 (1 December 2012) and Living with HIV, Standard Chartered’s global HIV and AIDS education program.

The 49-metre long ribbon will be rolled out across the pitch by staff from Standard Chartered and the HIV/AIDS charity AVERT. This will be the first time that the AIDS awareness ribbon, recognised as the largest in the world by Guinness World Records, has been displayed in the UK.

AVERT, a UK-based international HIV and AIDS charity, is providing the ribbon on behalf of globally renowned HIV expert Dr. Surya Rao, who created it in his home country of India to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS across the globe.

“Liverpool is scheduled to play Southampton on World AIDS Day making it the perfect opportunity to display the red ribbon and reinforce our commitment to the global fight against HIV,” said Group Head of Sustainability and Regions at Standard Chartered Mark Devadason. “Our thanks go out to both Liverpool and AVERT who have made this activity possible, and enabled us to show our solidarity with those living with HIV and commemorate those who have died from the illness.”

Ian Ayre, Managing Director, Liverpool FC, added “Living with HIV is an important cause, and one which the club is proud to support. When an individual wears a red ribbon they are demonstrating that they have joined the global fight against HIV so we are delighted to be able to use the Anfield pitch to display the ribbon and raise awareness for HIV and AIDS.”

HIV remains a global issue and is of particular relevance in a number of Standard Chartered’s markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Every day, another 7,000 people worldwide are infected with HIV.

Liverpool FC’s involvement in the World AIDS Day activity will help to draw attention to the fact that in 2011 there were 939 people living with HIV in Merseyside, representing a 220% increase over the course of the previous 10 years.

On 14th September 2009, Liverpool FC and Standard Chartered Bank announced a four-year deal in which the Bank became the Club’s main sponsor. The agreement, which began in July 2010 and runs through to the end of the 2013-14 season sees Standard Chartered’s name and logo appear on the Liverpool FC shirt. This is the largest commercial agreement in the Club’s history. As official club sponsors, Standard Chartered enjoy a major rights package which provides a platform to significantly step up the Bank’s brand awareness across its core markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Standard Chartered’s Living with HIV program was launched in Africa in 1999 and was expanded across the Bank’s global network four years later. Living with HIV focuses on prevention through education in the belief that knowing the facts, understanding the risks and adopting safer behaviours can help people avoid infection and prevent those who are infected passing on the illness.

Educational resources and tools are shared with Standard Chartered’s staff and local communities through a range of partnerships across the public, private and NGO sectors.

For further information please visit www.standardchartered.com. Follow Standard Chartered at www.facebook.com/standardchartered and on Twitter @StanChart.