Barclays Premier League Trophy to showcase at Shanghai World Expo 2010

Hong Kong – Barclays PLC (Barclays), a major global financial services provider engaged in retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth management, announces that the Barclays Premier League Trophy will visit Shanghai for the first time at the World Expo on Thursday, 27 May 2010. Barclays will be offering football fans in China a taste of the Barclays Premier League. A lucky winner, drawn from an online competition, will win two premier league tickets to watch his or her favourite Barclays Premier League team at its home stadium, with flight and accommodation all covered by Barclays.

The visit of the Barclays Premier League Trophy (“Trophy”) to World Expo forms part of Barclays programme of events as a Founder Sponsor of the UK Pavilion. The Trophy will be placed for public viewing in the VIP Suite of the UK Pavilion on 27 May, with visitors having the chance to be selected to have a face-to-face experience and photo opportunity with one of the most prized trophies in football.

To commemorate this special event, Barclays has collaborated with Chinese social media portal Douban to launch an online photo competition. Participants can enter the competition simply by uploading their “game faces” photos to the mini site, http://www.douban.com/minisite/ukculture/, before 27 May. The winner of the competition will be announced at 5:15 pm on 27 May at the UK Pavilion.

“The Expo represents a major opportunity for Barclays to demonstrate its commitment to the Chinese market. As the title sponsor of the Barclays Premier League, we are proud of the large fan base that the league has in China and are delighted that Chinese fans can experience such an important part of the Barclays Premier League first hand,” said Robert Morrice, Chairman & CEO, Asia Pacific of Barclays PLC.

Carma Elliot OBE, British Consul General Shanghai said, “Football has always been a substantial part of our culture. Having the Barclays Premier League Trophy in the UK Pavilion allows us to share with the world our love and passion for one of the most popular sports.”

For further information, please contact:
Hon Gay Lau, Barclays Capital Communications +852 2903 2305
Vickie Zhang, Weber Shandwick in Shanghai +86 21 2411 0054

Any media who do not have press passes for the World Expo and who would like to attend the prize draw in the UK Pavilion at 5.15 pm on Thursday 27 May must pre-register with Ms Vickie Zhang at Weber Shandwick, tel: +86 21 2411 0054

Notes to editors:

About UK Pavilion

A Dramatic demonstration of UK creativity

Shanghai World Expo will be the most spectacular and important event of its type. It is an Expo for the 21st Century and the UK have designed and built a Pavilion that reflects the splendour of the Expo2010.

Our Pavilion is a striking, visual demonstration of the UK as a creative and innovative nation; exactly as Crystal Palace was in the very first Expo in London in 1851.

Developed by one of the UK’s leading creative talents, Thomas Heatherwick, the centrepiece of the UK pavilion is a six storey high object formed from some 60,000 slender transparent rods, which extend from the structure and quiver in the breeze. During the day, each of the 7.5m long rods act like fibre-optic filaments, drawing on daylight to illuminate the interior, thereby creating a contemplative awe-inspiring space. At night, light sources at the interior end of each rod allow the whole structure to glow. The pavilion sits on a landscape looking like paper that once wrapped the building and that now lies unfolded on the site.

About the Barclays Premier League Trophy

The Barclays Premier League trophy was crafted in 2004, when Barclays became title sponsor of the Premier League. The trophy design is based on the theme of ‘The Three Lions of English Football’. Two of the lions can be found above the handles on either side of the trophy. When the captain of the title-winning team raises the trophy above his head he becomes the third lion.

The trophy stands two-feet five inches tall and twenty-four inches wide. The total weight of the trophy is 56 pounds. The base alone accounts for 35 pounds. Cast by Asprey and Garrard, the Crown Jewellers, the main body of the trophy is made from sterling silver. The crown is cast from 24-carat silver gilt, to a depth of half a millimetre. The base of the trophy is made from malachite, a semi-precious stone found in Africa. The green colour of the opaque stone represents the field of play.

About Barclays PLC

Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth management with an extensive international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs over 155,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for 48 million customers and clients worldwide.

For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.barclays.com.