Chanel has announced a long-term partnership with the Boat Race – the UK’s oldest major sporting event – which will see the French fashion house become the first brand to be both title sponsor and official timekeeping partner of the event. In celebration of the partnership, the race will now be known as the Chanel J12 Boat Race in reference to the brand’s popular unisex sport watch collection, which itself took its name from J Class sailing yachts.

Held each spring, with the next event to take place on 13 April 2025, the race between the rowing teams of Oxford and Cambridge Universities has been held annually since 1829 and sees the dark and light ‘Blues’ of each university pit it out against each other across a 4.25-mile stretch of the Thames known as the Championship Course.

Attended in person by around 250,000 spectators, who line the bank of the Thames, as well as being broadcast live on BBC and watched by millions more globally, the race has become a major part of London’s sporting calendar. In its official statement, Chanel commented that the Boat Race shared its commitment to “develop and showcase exceptional talent”.

Coco Chanel

“We are delighted to sign a strategic partnership with The Boat Race who share the same values of collective endeavour and the pursuit of excellence,” said Frédéric Grangié, president of Chanel Watches & Fine Jewellery. “It’s an honour to be the first-ever official timekeeper in the race’s 195-year history, and to simultaneously become title sponsor and principal partner.

“Synchronicity in rowing is as crucial to the race as watchmaking craftsmanship to ensure accurate timing. Every rower, like every mechanism in a watch, must work together as one; the balance, the weight and the oar movements must all be impeccably timed. We look forward to working with The Boat Race over the coming years to bring this partnership to life, through the world of Chanel and our iconic J12 watches.”

Chanel replaces cryptocurrency platform Gemini, which sponsored the race from 2021-24 as title sponsor, while the partnership strengthens the fashion brand’s ongoing relationship with Cambridge University, with whom it has collaborated on sustainability initiatives since 2021.

“On behalf of the wider Boat Race community, we are so thrilled to welcome Chanel as our new title sponsor,” added Siobhan Cassidy, chair of The Boat Race Company Ltd . “We knew when we first met, on June 10 – the same date as the first ever Boat Race in 1829 – that they understood the appeal of our event and we’re very confident that their involvement will help us take the event to new places and new people, as well as enhancing it for our millions of existing followers.”

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