We are honored that the Brussels Airport Company Marathon & Half-Marathon supports Parkinson’s research. If you would like to take part yourself, or with a team of friends or colleagues, please click here to sign up. Remember there are many distances available!! You don’t have to be a marathon runner to represent #teambeatparkinson

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Interview with Catherine Hijazin, Brussels Airport Company brand manager

Why did the Brussels Airport Company decide to sponsor such a major annual event?

Brussels Airport is the main sponsor of the Brussels Marathon, and since 2018 the event bears our name. Golazo is in charge of the practical and logistical organisation of this huge event.

What makes it special/different from other sporting events?

For Brussels Airport, it’s an event that we felt was important to promote because of its (inter)national character and its roots in Brussels, the capital of Belgium and Europe.

What also makes it different is the fact that it’s a sport that can be enjoyed by everyone, whether you’re a beginner, a Sunday runner, a high-performance runner or even a professional runner. The organisation of the event offers a range of distances, not just the Marathon, so there’s something for everyone. The Marathon (42km), the half-marathon (21km), a 10km course and a Kids Run.

It’s an event open to everyone, and one that promotes diversity and openness.

Everyone taking part in the Brussels Airport Marathon is there to take on a challenge, a personal challenge, to support a cause… Everyone finds an opportunity to surpass themselves, to go beyond their limits and to achieve a goal of which they can be proud. And we think it’s a great opportunity to associate our Brussels Airport brand with this.

What values do this event and the Brussels Airport Company share?

By associating itself with this event, Brussels Airport aims to achieve a number of objectives:

  • increase the visibility and create sympathy for our brand in Brussels and more widely at international level.
  • associate our brand with a sporting event that helps people lead healthier lives.
  • inspire people to run and offer participants from all over the world an athletic challenge in the heart of Europe.
  • support the Demoucelle Parkinson Charity

Running promotes many different values: resilience, self-respect and respect for others, Care (for yourself & others), team spirit, etc. These are all important values for Brussels Airport.

How big is the team organising this event and when do they start planning next year’s event?

As I mentioned earlier, Brussels Airport is not the organiser of the event as such, but given the importance it has in terms of positioning Brussels Airport, we are also working hard on it.

It’s the Branding and Sponsorship team who are following the whole development of the project. It’s a project that requires organisation from February right through to October, the big day.

We’re also working hard to build awareness of the event through marketing and communications. We’ve produced a great advertising campaign under the slogan “Our Heart beats for many reasons but #WeRunTogether”. 

Of course, no project can be carried out alone, and so we also have the support of the rest of the communications team (internal communications, Social Media), to ensure that we create as many positive echoes of the event as possible.

Why is Brussels Airport Company such a loyal supporter of Parkinson’s research – both through this event and through its sponsorship of the “Run, or Walk, for Parkinson’s” team at the Brussels20k?

From the outset, it was clear that being a partner in such an event had to be based on a vision of openness and inclusion. In fact, we really wanted to be able to promote an event that was open to everyone, while respecting everyone’s diversity.

In the words of our CEO: “I’m pleased to confirm that BAC will continue to support the Demoucelle Parkinson Charity in 2023, we’re not giving up! Your and Anne-Marie’s fight remains an example of courage and strength for us all.”

DPC is a charity that has been close to our hearts for many years.

How does the Brussels Airport Marathon & Half Marathon support the Demoucelle Parkinson Charity?

Every runner who registers is given the opportunity to make a donation. Brussels Airport then doubles the amount collected and presents a cheque at the medal ceremony.

In addition, we raise awareness about the Demoucelle Parkinson among all participating runners by :

  • printing the logo on all our Brussels Airport and community runners’ shirts;
  • visibility on the website, and throughout our communication campaign;
  • Patrick’s active participation in the event via a speech at the start, the race launch, together with our CEO;
  • a mention at the awards ceremony;
  • a dedicated Demoucelle area in our Lounge to welcome our runners and officials.