Royal Ascot 2023 once again provided a fantastic platform for good, promoting several charitable causes and engaging the local community in various initiatives around the Royal Meeting.
Royal Ascot Fashion Design Competition
The 2023 winner of the Royal Ascot Fashion Design Competition was Iola Gilder, a 15-year-old student from Garth Hill College, Bracknell. Having impressed the judges with her quality of design, creativity and elegance, Iola's outfit was brought to life by LK Bennett, an Official Sponsor at Ascot Racecourse. She then had the exciting opportunity to visit the LK Bennett HK in London to choose the fabrics before being a guest of the racecourse with her family on the Saturday of Royal Ascot to showcase the bespoke outfit.
Additionally, Iola helped design her own hat, working with leading designer Sarah Marshall of John Boyd Hats to bring her millinery masterpiece to life.
During the visit to LK Bennett, Iola was able to learn more about the design and production process and has since been invited for work experience at the leading British fashion brand to continue her career path in the fashion industry.
Iola said: "Thank you Ascot Racecourse for the most amazing day! I had a wonderful time and am still on a high after what was a fantastic day and experience. I'm still so beyond happy that I got picked and it has truly been such a pleasure working with LK Bennett and John Boyd, something I never would have been able to do if it wasn't for Royal Ascot, definitely an experience I will never forget."
Royal Ascot Schools Art Competition winners
The Royal Ascot Schools Art Competition took place this year with a Coronation theme. More than 1,100 entries were received from 20 schools and the winners were invited on the Saturday of Royal Ascot to form a guard of honour for the jockeys and had a meet and greet with leading rider and Ascot Racecourse Supports ambassador Ryan Moore.
Supporting the Armed Forces Charities
The three principal single Service Armed Forces charities, comprising the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, ABF The Soldiers' Charity and the RAF Benevolent Fund, were once again the official nominated charity partners for Royal Ascot 2023.
All three charities were on site on the Wednesday and Friday to dovetail with the "2for1" ticket offer that was extended to serving military personnel for both days. Ascot Racecourse will also be making a donation from the sale of certain food and beverage items in the week in addition to a donation of 1% of sales by our concessionaires on Wednesday and Friday. Around 60 of the charity volunteers were also bucket collecting on both days.
Britannia Stakes
Members of the Betting and Gaming Council honoured a fundraising initiative established in 2019 that gifts all profits from the Britannia Stakes to charity. While the success of 6-1 favourite Docklands under Hayley Turner made the race a loss-maker for bookmakers, they honoured the pledge with a bumper £277,000 donation that will be shared across charities SportsAid, the Holocaust Educational Trust, Cystic Fibrosis Trust, SAS Regimental Association (SASRA), Ascot Racecourse Supports and Together for Looked After Children.
Charities enjoy a trial lunch service pre-Royal Ascot
On the Monday before Royal Ascot, 19th June, we welcomed over 200 guests representing more than 25 local charities and community groups to enjoy a trial lunch service at some of our Fine Dining restaurants. Guests, including our local fire and police force, enjoyed exquisite meals from various celebrity chefs such as Ollie Dabbous, Simon Rogan and Sally Abe. Not only was this a special day out for many of the benefactors, it was also very helpful for the Ascot team to test things and properly prepare for the week ahead.
Heath Enclosure for Schools
Around 200 children from eight local schools attended on both Tuesday and Wednesday with a dedicated viewing and picnic area on the Heath for the Royal Procession and racing during the first two days. The special event allowed youngsters to experience Royal Ascot in a unique way and bringing them close to the action.
Surplus Food donated to City Harvest, London
During Royal Ascot, we were able to donate surplus food to City Harvest, a London based charity who redistribute food that would otherwise be wasted to grassroots organisations that feed some of the most vulnerable and deserving people living in London. During the week, a total of 2.11 tonnes of food was provided equating to 5,026 meals delivered; preventing 8.02 tonnes of GHG by rescuing food for human consumption.
Flowers donated
All leftover flowers that were used to make the site look so beautiful have this week been donated to Little Muddy Boots, a garden and nature club with sites in Bracknell, Windsor and Wokingham as well as Jealotts Hill Community Landshare between Bracknell and Maidenhead which supports local horticultural activities.
Residents ticket ballot
500 pairs of Queen Anne Enclosure tickets to the Wednesday were balloted out to local residents living within a three-mile radius of the racecourse. More than 2,000 tickets have been donated in this way since 2021.
Jacqui Greet, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Ascot Racecourse, said: "We are thrilled that the Ascot Racecourse Supports programme was again so wide ranging and successful throughout Royal Ascot.
"It is hugely rewarding to be able to use the event to promote some very worthy charities and causes and also engage with the local community in various way throughout the week.
"We were particularly thrilled with the Royal Ascot Fashion Design Competition this year and delighted that it will have a lasting legacy with Iola set to undertake work experience with LK Bennett."
