Richard's Blog - 2010

Celebrating Nelson Mandela Day

It’s 11 days to go before my 60th and as you might suspect, I’m planning something quite interesting to celebrate it, which you’ll hear about soon… Before then, I want to let you know about an initiative that’s close to my heart. As you may or may not know, I happen to share my birth date with Nelson Mandela, a man who I have the honour of calling my friend and mentor. This year, Madiba celebrates his 92nd birthday on July 18th.  It…

Looking forward to the British Grand Prix

Everyone at Virgin is very excited about Virgin Racing’s first home Grand Prix at Silverstone next weekend.So much so that we are holding an intimate boutique festival at my old school to celebrate the British Grand Prix.The Virgin Racing team will be staying at Stowe School nearby to the Silverstone track – and anyone who wants to join in the fun over the GP weekend can come and camp too.There will be live bands – we never miss a chance to get musical here at Virgin – as…

International adventures with Virgin America

This week marked a very big day for the little airline that could… Virgin America, three years old this coming August, became an international carrier by starting service from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Toronto. Thanks to Virgin America, Canada’s hi-tech and entertainment capital will now be more stylishly and affordably linked to California’s hi tech and entertainment hubs. We celebrated the service with a new plane called Air Drake, in honour of Toronto hometown superst…

Celebrating ten years of flying to Las Vegas with Dita Von Teese

Today I have been celebrating Virgin Atlantic's 10th anniversary of flying between London and Las Vegas, and what better way to mark the occasion than a wing walk with Dita Von Teese! Ten years of flights to the entertainment capital of the world is a real milestone for Virgin Atlantic and definitely worthy of celebrating - especially since there is no better place to party. I am delighted to be here to mark this achievement and especially pleased to have Dita here to help lead these celebrat…

Driving green innovation in F1

I had a great time watching Virgin Racing compete in a fascinating Canadian Grand Prix at the weekend.The team really is pulling together and going in the right direction – on and off the track.This is particularly true in terms of Virgin Racing's commitment to focusing upon the environmental impact of Formula One.A new deal with Canadian-based recycling company Carbon Green is the first truly green and highly relevant deal in the history of the sport. In the future, the plan is for old…

The Manor closes, the Red Room opens

Lots of memories from the beginnings of the Virgin Group have came flooding back due to the news that The Manor has been put up for sale.I converted the house into Britain's first residential recording studio in 1971 and it soon became a part of rock 'n' roll legend.Virgin Records' first ever album, Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' was recorded there, along with classics from the likes of Sandy Denny, Black Sabbath and Queen. The Manor was a place for rock stars to behave like r…

Launching the Virgin Trophy

Over the years I have always enjoyed the thrill of a challenge and the spirit of adventure. In 1985 I competed to achieve the fastest Atlantic crossing in the Virgin Atlantic Challenger. The crossing was very eventful and the boat eventually capsized (I've spent quite a lot of time in the water over the years!) but undaunted I tried again the following year and achieved my goal winning the Blue Riband with Challenger II. I'd caught the bug! So in 1986 my Virgin Atlantic Flyer became the first ho…

Think small to act in a big way: help create the world’s largest elephant migration corridor

In the world of elephants, bigger is definitely better, even if it means just looking big.  Male African elephants continue to grow throughout their 70 years, and can reach 7½ tons (more than two Hummers). Why am I telling you this you ask? Well, despite their size they need some help from us humans, as space for elephants needs to be ‘channelled’ in Africa. There are billions of people on the earth, yet there are finite numbers of our beautiful creatures in the world lef…

Visiting the Branson School of Entrepreneurship

It is always a pleasure to visit the Branson School of Entrepreneurship (BSoE). The original school was established in Johannesburg with the support of Virgin Unite among other partners to support budding entrepreneurs in South Africa.It was great meeting all the students and hearing how the BSoE is helping them to reach their goals and develop their business ideas. It really is an inspiring place - where else do you get to talk to people whose businesses ideas range from mobile cinemas to femal…

Learning to blow the vuvuzela

These two superfans from South Africa, TK and Vusi, managed to teach me how to blow a Vuvuzela. I even managed to squeeze in God Save the Queen.You have to see the spirit these guys are bringing to fans across South Africa on their Facebook page, http://bit.ly/fanstrain. Good luck chaps! …

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