British Heart Foundation Gets Young Football Fans Lost to Heart Disease to Euros 2024 Final

British Heart Foundation (BHF) has extended its latest work with Saatchi & Saatchi by taking the stories of young football fans whose lives were tragically ended by heart disease to a global stage ahead of UEFA Euros 2024 final in Berlin. 

Ahead of last night’s closing game between England and Spain, the faces, names, and stories of those affected were projected near Olympiastadion in the German capital in front of thousands of spectators - ensuring each made it to Berlin for the final of the Euros.  

The imagery rotated between each of the young English football fans featured in the campaign across the weekend in the build-up to the final on Sunday night. The work is part of the broader ‘Til I Died campaign, which was created to emphasise the critical need for research funding by spotlighting those affected's unfulfilled dreams and aspirations. 

The poignant campaign, which launched in June ahead of the tournament, is built on the insight that the nation is largely unaware of the devastating effect heart disease has on young people, and aims to shift the perception of heart disease and raise awareness that it can strike anybody regardless of age. 

In addition to the weekend’s activation, the campaign began with 12 individual murals hand-painted by OOH production agency Grand Visual, and media handled by PHD, in the hometowns of the 12 football fans, including Birmingham, Cardiff, Chesterfield, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Southampton. The campaign extended across social and radio, with bespoke executions highlighting the urgency of research funding to end heart disease. 

The choice to honour 12 individuals stemmed from the insight that 12 young lives are tragically lost to sudden cardiac death every single week in the UK. Each of the young people depicted, all passionate football fans, had their promising futures cut short, leaving behind shattered dreams and unfulfilled aspirations ‘Til They Died. 

By activating in Berlin during the final of the UEFA Euros 2024, the creative work aims to highlight the young people and their love for football at a time when the nation will be excited to see their country play at such a pivotal moment.   

Damion Mower, director of brand at British Heart Foundation (BHF) says, “We launched this incredibly emotive campaign as the Euros tournament kicked off as a powerful reminder of the young fans who tragically aren’t here to cheer on the team they loved. It is heartrendingly poignant that England made the final of the competition and we couldn’t think of a better tribute to the young England fans than to take them to Berlin. 

“These wonderful families have so bravely shared their stories because they don’t want any other family to suffer like they have. It is thanks to them that this campaign has shone a spotlight on sudden cardiac death and the need for the BHF to fund research to keep more families together at these special moments."

Franki Goodwin, chief creative officer, Saatchi & Saatchi says, “Despite the result, something really special happened in Berlin last night. We celebrated the lives of these young fans by putting them front and centre at a moment that would have been so important to them. We couldn’t be prouder to have taken them through the tournament and to the final in Berlin, and to connect the important work of the British Heart Foundation with a huge, international audience.”

The work was created by Pete Ioulianou and Ollie Agius.