Athletics-London Marathon announces TCS as title sponsor

(Reuters) - Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will become the title sponsor for the London Marathon in a six-year partnership starting next year, event organisers said on Tuesday.

Virgin Money chose not to extend its sponsorship deal with London Marathon Events beyond the 2021 race.

TCS has been the technology partner of the London Marathon since 2016 and developed an app to support participants in the first virtual London Marathon during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

"This is a landmark day in our history and we look forward to working with TCS to evolve and grow our digital reach, inspire millions more to become active and develop opportunities to raise even more funds for charities," Hugh Brasher, event director of London Marathon Events, said in a statement.

Organisers are hoping to attract a record 50,000 runners for this year's London Marathon on Oct. 3 with another 50,000 people around the world competing in a virtual race.

(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)