Nickelodeon's The Big Help Prosocial Campaign And First Lady Michelle Obama Team Up And Get Into The Olympic Spirit With A Special Let's Move! Event In London

NEW YORK, July 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon's The Big Help prosocial campaign for kids is teaming up with First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative to host Let's Move! London, an event for more than 1,000 American military children and American and British students.  The event, which is taking place on Friday, July 27, in London is being co-sponsored by Let's Move!, Nickelodeon's The Big Help, and the Department of State, and will include sports stations, musical performances and appearances by Olympic and Paralympic legends including members of the U.S. delegation along with David Beckham, Bart Conner, Nadia Comaneci, Teresa Edwards, Emily Hughes, Sarah Hughes, Shawn Johnson, Dikembe Mutombo, Dara Torres, members of the 2012 US Track and Field Team and Manchester United legends, among others.

"First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative has been invaluable in raising awareness about the importance of kids and families living healthier and more active lifestyles," said Marva Smalls, Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Nickelodeon Group.  "We are proud to work with the initiative as we ourselves continue to spread the message of health and wellness and inspire action through our Big Help campaign." 

During Let's Move! London kids will have an opportunity to get into the Olympic spirit and get active with the NBA and USA Basketball, U.S. Tennis Association, Manchester United, USA Field Hockey, USA Track and Field and Right to Play, which will all be providing activity stations. The event will also feature performances from The Wanted, Mark Ronson, Katy B., the University of Florida Gator Marching Band, the Power Rangers and specials appearances from Nickelodeon's Jeff Sutphen, DJ J Boogie, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

This event is part of the First Lady's work to turn the inspiration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games into action by getting more kids healthy and active.  In May, the First Lady joined U.S. Olympians, Paralympians and London hopefuls to announce a nationwide commitment to get more than 1.7 million American children active as part of her Let's Move! initiative to solve the problem of childhood obesity in a generation.

In March, Mrs. Obama welcomed Mrs. Samantha Cameron, wife of British Prime Minister David Cameron, to the United States by hosting a mini-Olympic event for local school children and in April, Mrs. Obama spoke at the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Warrior Games. Mrs. Obama also invited Americans to start or join Let's Move! Olympic Fun Day Meetups on July 28th, the first day of competition in London. In cities and towns all across the country, friends, family and neighbors will come together to participate in Olympic-inspired games and activities to not just cheer on Team USA, but to live up to the example they set.

Last year, Nickelodeon teamed up with Let's Move! to celebrate its 8th annual Worldwide Day of Play, when the network once again suspended programming for three hours to encourage kids and families to get up and get active.  Joined by Let's Move! and the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Nickelodeon brought its flagship Worldwide Day of Play (WWDOP) event to the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., for the biggest celebration of active play in the initiative's history.  The event drew more than 50,000 kids and families, who spent the day celebrating active play. 

The Big Help is Nickelodeon's prosocial commitment to engage kids to take action and make a difference in their world.  The initiative allows kids to connect to their passions by participating in Big Help Actions, which are service opportunities designed to engage kids in specific real world activities that affect the world around them.  The campaign focuses on issues that are important to and affect kids, including health and wellness, the environment, education, and community service.

Nickelodeon, now in its 33rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 17 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).

SOURCE Nickelodeon