Canary Wharf businesses to ride the wave in annual Dragon Boat Race for WaterAid

Posted by
Safeeyah Kazi
on
11 May 2023
Dragon Boat Race, London, England. 7th July 2022
Image: WaterAid/ Brendan Foster

Canary Wharf businesses are invited to take to the water on Thursday 6 July to row-row-row their boats along South Dock as part of a fiery Dragon Boat Race in support of international charity WaterAid.

Returning for a second year, the corporate competition will see local organisations swap their keyboards for oars as they honour the 2,000 year-old Chinese tradition in a bid to help WaterAid deliver the basic human right of clean water and decent toilets to everyone, everywhere.

In collaboration with the Canary Wharf Group, funds raised through rigorous rowing will go towards combating the escalating water crisis that leaves 771 million people – one in 10 - globally unable to access clean water and one in five without a basic toilet.

The adrenaline-fueled event will put teamwork to the test as groups of up to 16 go tail-to-tail across a 250m stretch around the dock. To keep the rowers in rhythm and spirits burning every dragon boat will have a drummer sat at the head and a steersperson to keep them on course to the finish line.

Last year’s event raised an astonishing £26,000 with 15 teams taking part and the charity aims to surpass these figures this year.

Corinne Stone, Senior Community and Events Officer at WaterAid, said:

“We’re proud to bring the Dragon Boat Race back for another electric year of rowing and fundraising! The Dragon Boat Race is a wonderful way to bring together organisations from across the docks for a battle on the water for water. Whilst our teams are racing their hearts out, the race to save lives continues. Clean water is the key to unlocking a world of opportunities from education security but primarily it means life and that is a universal right.”

Camilla McGregor, Events Manager at the Canary Wharf Group, said:

“Canary Wharf Group are delighted to welcome back WaterAid’s Dragon Boat Race to Canary Wharf. Following a successful partnership last year we are overjoyed to see the event increase in popularity with many teams already signed up for this year’s event, helping to raise much needed funds for this fantastic charity.”

The event will take place from 11:30am – 6:30pm and is now open for registration. If you think your team of 11 to 17 people is up to the task, then prepare to set sail and secure your place here:

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

Safeeyah Kazi, Senior Media Officer, or call our after-hours press line on +44 (0)7887 521 552, or email .

Notes to Editors:

WaterAid is working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. The international not-for-profit organisation works in 27 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 28 million people with clean water and nearly 29 million people with decent toilets.

For more information, visit our website , follow us on Twitter , or , or find us on , or .

  • 771 million people in the world – one in ten – do not have clean water close to home.
  • Almost 1.7 billion people in the world – more than one in five – do not have a decent toilet of their own.
  • Over 300,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That's more than 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes.
  • Investing in safely managed water, sanitation and hygiene services provides up to 21 times more value than it costs.

[1] WHO/UNICEF (2021) Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2020. Joint Monitoring Programme. Geneva: World Health Organisation.

[2] WHO/UNICEF (2021) Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2020. Joint Monitoring Programme. Geneva: World Health Organisation.

[3] WaterAid calculations based on: Prüss-Ustün A, et al. (2019). Burden of Disease from Inadequate Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Selected Adverse Health Outcomes: An Updated Analysis with a Focus on Low- and Middle-Income Countries. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. vol 222, no 5, pp 765-777. AND The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (2020) Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Seattle, WA: University of Washington.

[4] WaterAid. (2021) Mission-critical: Invest in water, sanitation and hygiene for a healthy and green economic recovery.

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