Success for bid to bring Baton of Hope to Derby

A bid backed by a number of Marketing Derby Bondholders to bring the Baton of Hope tour to the city – and promote suicide prevention – has been successful.

Back in May, Marketing Derby called upon its Bondholders to support a bid to include the city on the Baton of Hope tour of the UK in 2025.

The team behind Derby’s bid has now learned that the city is among 20 locations selected, with a provisional date of 13 September, 2025, allocated to the city.

The successful bidders were chosen from more than 50 applicants.

Derby’s bid was supported by Marketing Derby, along with fellow Bondholders including Derby County Community Trust, Sporting Communities, Calm in a Box, HUUB, Loates Consulting and Treetops Hospice.

Mike McCarthy, chair of Baton of Hope, said: “The applications were truly impressive and selecting the successful bidders was an incredibly difficult task.

“In the end we had to try to reach a consensus based not only on the quality of the application but also on a fair and diverse geographical spread representing as much of the UK as we could.”

As part of the event, bereaved families and suicide survivors are invited to carry a specially designed symbol of hope across the UK.

Last year, the Baton of Hope toured the UK visiting 12 cities in 12 days, ending up with an endorsement from the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street.

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50 and women under 35.

The Baton of Hope charity aims to help the UK move towards a zero-suicide society.

It is seeking to change the conversation around suicide, smash the stigma, highlight existing support and leave a lasting legacy of practical improvements in the field of suicide prevention.

To find out more about the Baton of Hope visit https://batonofhopeuk.org/ .