ukactive has replaced Flame with a new event called Active Uprising, to better serve the evolving health and fitness sector, as Steve Ward explains

Each year, ukactive brings members and partners together to celebrate the best of our sector at the Flame event.

However, the landscape has changed rapidly since the event began and we believe it’s time for Flame to evolve to meet the future needs of the sector.

The physical activity sector continues to thrive, both in terms of revenues and membership numbers and we’re seeing our work inform policies, touch communities and transform societies.

A multitude of sectors are converging on the health and fitness industry and new business models, partnerships and thinking are disrupting the market.

In response, we’ve developed Active Uprising, a new flagship event which will take place in Manchester. This expanded multi-day celebration of physical activity marks the evolution of Flame.

Celebrate activity
We’re not calling for an uprising, because it’s already happening all around us.

Just look at the list of global brands making activity their core business, the technology moguls who are are stepping in, the rise of boutique studios and the new innovations – both those disrupting the market and those increasing collaboration between governments.

Active Uprising will celebrate all such developments, becoming the main event for physical activity in the UK.

Our aim is also for the event to eventually position us at the epicentre of the global physical activity movement, becoming a focal point in tackling the inactivity crisis worldwide.

Go north
We’re taking the event from Flame’s established venue in Telford to Manchester. The city is a hotbed of innovation and creativity and the perfect place to deliver the Active Uprising Weekend, which will take place during the 22nd and 23rd of June with a range of events on offer.

The Conference will include talks from leading figures on key trends impacting our sector and will incorporate strands from our other events, including the latest tech innovation from ActiveLab Live! and an event for the boutique sector with our new Sweat North conference.

In the evening, we’ll host a red-carpet ceremony for the revamped ukactive Awards, where we’ll see some exciting new categories to celebrate the stars driving the physical activity movement – from the individual to the organisation.

Working together
As a sector, we’re in a stronger position than ever before, and the opportunities ahead of us are many. Yet we also face bigger challenges, both as a nation and globally: physical inactivity is taking thousands of lives a year. We need high-impact moments where we not only talk, network and learn but also inspire real and lasting change, coming together to re-energise the movement as we continue to build it.

We want Active Uprising to form the vanguard of a global movement for physical activity. Anyone with a role to play in creating an active planet should be part of this – it’s only by coming together that can we resolve the inactivity crisis.