On Thursday 13th November 2014, the largest political event in the health & fitness sector’s annual calendar, the ukactive National Summit, took place at London’s Congress Centre in Great Russell Street, WC1. The event examined the future of physical activity and the public health agenda, as well as providing attendees with practical evidence-based interventions, advice and initiatives to put into place.
According to Christina Edscer, ukactive Events Manager, “This was the third year in a row that we’ve held our Summit at Congress Centre. We chose to return to the venue again in 2014 because of Congress Centre’s excellent location close to multiple transport links which makes it extremely convenient for delegates to get to. We also wanted a daylight venue with plenty of breakout space, along with a purpose-built stage set in the main room to avoid having to bring in extra equipment. The Congress Centre ticked all those boxes for us.”
The ukactive National Summit attracted more than 400 senior influencers from across physical activity, health, policy, brand, media, research, the charity space, and local authority commissioning. It was chaired by The Guardian & Observer’s Health Correspondent, Denis Campbell.
Among the many high profile speakers in attendance were former Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell OBE, Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Professor Kevin Fenton, Director of Health and Wellbeing, Public Health England, Parliamentarian and former Paralympian Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE, former Director of Strategy at number 10 Lord Andrew Cooper, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health, Jane Ellison MP.