23/11/2016
NEWS STORY
ZOOM, the annual auction of photographs taken by the stars of F1, has announced Starlight Children's Foundation as the Official Charity Partner of the 2017 ZOOM gala event, which will take place on Friday 3rd February next year.
Starlight is a national charity that provides entertainment in hospitals and hospices across the UK and grants wishes-of-a-lifetime for seriously and terminally ill children, restoring the magic and fun of childhood and giving the whole family happy memories to share, whatever the future holds. As ZOOM's charity partner they will be the beneficiary of the annual auction of the F1 stars' signed images, which will be sold at the gala event in early 2017.
ZOOM, which has raised almost £100,000 for charity since it was launched in late 2012, is the only auction of signed photos taken by the stars of any sport.
It gives fans a glimpse behind the scenes at the track and reveals how F1's superstars enjoy themselves away from it. The photos are like personal postcards from the sport's biggest names and they come from all over the globe.
Throughout the current season, the drivers and team principals have been busy each taking a snapshot of their world.
This is the fifth occasion that ZOOM has taken place and the images include subjects as diverse as Lewis Hamilton's photo of the sun setting over the paradise islands of Turks and Caicos, to Felipe Massa's selfie with Jenson Button at Monza, to Carlos Sainz' cute snap of two playful meerkats (top).
Pitpass is also delighted to exclusively reveal (right) Renault driver Jolyon Palmer's contribution; a "stunning night view of Paris, the night before being presented as a Renault Sport Formula One Team driver for the first time", according to the British driver.
The 2017 line-up will be auctioned by Coys in the ballroom of the InterContinental London Park Lane at a star-studded event.
Starlight is the perfect match for ZOOM as it has a long standing relationship with Formula 1 and every year the charity takes children to the Monaco Grand Prix to meet the drivers and soak up the atmosphere.
"ZOOM is a super project," says Bernie Ecclestone. "We are proud to be supporting it again, helping to raise money for charity while showing what the stars of F1 get up to away from the TV cameras.
"We're also very pleased to welcome ZOOM's new charity partner, Starlight Children's Foundation. They do a fantastic job making sick children's dreams come true and it's great to see the kids every year at the Monaco Grand Prix. It's good to have them on board."
"We are delighted to be partnering with ZOOM and are very much looking forward to working together," added Neil Swan, chief executive of Starlight. "Given the fabulous support Starlight receives from across the F1 community with our annual wish trip for seriously and terminally ill children to the Monaco Grand Prix, and in many other ways, this partnership seems like a natural fit. The money raised will be used to help brighten the lives of Starlight's very poorly children by granting them a 'wish-of-a-lifetime' and by providing a year-round in-hospital entertainment programme across the UK to distract them from the fear, pain and isolation often caused by their illness and giving both them and their families happy memories, whatever the future may hold for them."
"We look forward to a successful partnership with Starlight Children's Foundation and are delighted to be supporting such a worthy cause," said Christian Sylt, co-founder of ZOOM. "ZOOM is about more than just the photographs and the money raised can make a real difference to children's lives. We would like to thank Bernie Ecclestone, the teams, drivers and the other participants, and all our partners for their support."