UK Embassy Launches ‘Sports for Climate’ Competition ahead of COP26

The UK Embassy in Cairo is launching a first-of-its-kind “Sports for Climate” competition to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change on people’s health, productivity, and the wider economy.

In an effort to explain the effects of climate change on our daily lives, the embassy partnered with World Gym Dandy Mall to show how climatic conditions can affect human performance, especially when people are outdoors and directly exposed to the hotter temperatures the world is witnessing as a consequence of global warming.

The competition is pided into three parts: one indoor workout, one outdoors, and an awards ceremony. Around 40 participants aged 20-35 took part in the first part of the competition during the weekend. They included university students from the British University in Egypt (BUE), Modern Sciences and Art University (MSA), and Hertfordshire and Coventry Universities.

Through fun and engaging sports activities, ranging from rowing to squats to push-ups, participants competed in an indoor workout challenge at World Gym, which they will repeat in the embassy’s garden on Saturday 25 September. Participants’ heart rates will be compared across both workouts, showing the difference in performance.

The results of the competition will be shared during an awards ceremony, hosted by the British Ambassador at the embassy in the presence of other diplomatic missions and ministries.

British Ambassador to Egypt, Gareth Bayley, said: “This is a unique and original experience, initiated by the Embassy to show in a concrete way how climate change affects each one of us. A warming climate means changes to our daily lives – not just athletes of course, but also outdoor workers – and brings new challenges for us to face. We face these challenges best, together. On a global level, this is what a UK-hosted COP26 Climate Conference will deliver in November: bringing together governments, including our Egyptian partners, businesses, community groups, and inpiduals to discuss the best ways to tackle climate change, take ambitious action, and make a real difference to fight a threat that threatens our very existence.”