Sunderland 2018 Host City Bid

Tricia Stewart, the originator and driving force behind the world famous Alternative Women’s Institute (WI) Calendar, has offered her support to Sunderland’s campaign to bring World Cup matches to the city in 2018. Tricia is a Sunderland Ambassador and to demonstrate her backing, she has posed with ‘back the bid’ banners preserving her modesty.

Following the death of her friend’s husband in 1998 from non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Tricia, a former radiographer from Sunderland, decided to go ahead with the calendar which she had previously joked about, as a way to raise funds for research into blood related cancers. The Alternative WI Calendar – for which WI ladies posed with their crafts, in the nude – was launched in April 1999 to worldwide acclaim. She was portrayed by Dame Helen Mirren in the film Calendar Girls and by actresses Lynda Bellingham and Anita Dobson in the West End stage play of the same name.

Tricia comments

When I heard about Sunderland’s campaign to be a host city in England’s bid to host the World Cup in 2018 I really wanted to find an eye catching way to show my support. I couldn’t think of anything better than to create an image based on The Alternative WI Calendar, and literally fly the flag for the campaign.

It would be fantastic to see such an important event as the World Cup come to Sunderland and the North East – I know that the city and region would put on a world-class show and I urge the public to back the bid.

Niall Quinn, chairman of Sunderland AFC, said:

I was absolutely delighted that Tricia decided to back the Sunderland 2018 host city bid in her own inimitable style. Her imaginative support is a great example of how people and businesses alike can be creative in getting behind the campaign, as well as registering their support online, by text message or by signing one of the ‘back the bid’ books, all of which is really important.

Tricia has done a huge amount for Leukaemia Research over the years and I wish her every success with her new calendar.

To register support for the bid, people can log on to www.sunderland2018-2022.com or text “Sunderland2018″, along with their name, house number and postcode to 62299. Texts are charged at the standard network rate. All messages of support will be included by Sunderland in the final bid document presented to the FA.

The Alternative WI calendar 2010 ‘10 years on’ was launched earlier this year to help raise further funds for Leukaemia Research. in 1999 Tricia and her friends had set a target of raising £5,000 for the charity but now after selling literally hundreds of thousands of calendars, the rights to the film and the musical, that total has topped £2.25m www.lrs.org.uk/calendargirls.