Actress Liz Hurley, cricketer Shane Warne and former England rugby captain Lawrence Dallaglio were just a few of the famous faces present on the opening day of Glorious Goodwood, Sporting Greats Day yesterday (Tuesday 27 July).
Also enjoying the sunshine were 200 British servicemen, who enjoyed a free day at the races courtesy of the charities Tickets for Troops and the Dallaglio Foundation.
Lawrence, who is an avid racing fan and currently owns shares in two horses with Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, was ambassador for the day.
“Through the Dallaglio Foundation we aim to support very specific, tangible projects which make a real and personal difference to people’s lives. Tickets for Troops is one such cause and Sporting Greats Day provides a great platform to generate awareness and raise some funds for the charity,” he said.
Chairman of Goodwood, Lord March, added: “Goodwood will be supporting Tickets for Troops throughout the year but Sporting Greats Day was a great opportunity to showcase the charity’s work. Both Goodwood and the Dallaglio Foundation individually identified Tickets for Troops as being a great cause to champion.”
Also at Goodwood yesterday Lawrence and two–time Olympic gold-medal-winning sailor Sarah Gosling (nee Webb) helped get the London 2012 Seat Tour underway — which aims encourage even sports fans to start planning for the Games.
The tour, in which four seats will be taken around the country visiting events including the Notting Hill Carnival and The Brit Awards, began yesterday at the racecourse.
After completing their tour the seats will be built into the Olympic Arena for the opening ceremony in two years time.
“With just two years to go until London 2012 it’s vital that people start registering their interest for tickets,” said Lawrence.
“I’ve been lucky enough to represent my country in front of a passionate home crowd on numerous occasions and that support can make the crucial difference to your performance. Every Team GB athlete will benefit from British fans cheering them on.”
Approximately eight million tickets will be available for the Olympic Games, with another two million for the Paralympic Games, and since the ticketing registration process launched in March more than 1.5 million people have signed up at www.tickets.london2012.com.
