Lewis Hamilton speaks at black sports summit

Lewis Hamilton spoke at the event via a pre-recorded interview

An event set up by a group of students to tackle racism and celebrate the achievements of black people in the sports industry has taken place.

The 2023 Black in Sport Summit (BISS) was held at the London Stadium, which hosted the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

The event included successful black sporting figures including footballer Anton Ferdinand, swimmer Alice Dearing and Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton.

The summit was sponsored by Sky.

BISS was set up by co-founders Ladi Ogunmekan, Samuel Ola and Emmanuel Shittu - all students at Loughborough University - in 2022 to try to tackle discrimination and underrepresentation of black people in sport.

Alice Dearing highlighted the importance of representation

It was co-hosted by Sky Sports News presenter Mike Wedderburn.

Former Premier League footballer Anton Ferdinand gave a talk that highlighted the issues of racism in football and discussed his own personal experience of being racially abused while playing professionally.

Seven-time Formula One title winner Lewis Hamilton appeared via a pre-recorded interview, outlining how he has pledged to create opportunities through a charitable organisation.

The final panel discussion of the day saw elite-level athletes, including Alice Dearing, highlighting the impact of representation on black athletes and social justice activism in sports.

Anton Ferdinand spoke at the event

Mr Ogunmekan said: "BISS 2023 was nothing short of amazing.

"Thank you to the incredible hosts, speakers, and delegates for contributing to what was an engaging and insightful day.

"In 2022, BISS set out to celebrate black achievement in sport and inspire the next generation of sport industry leaders.

"Our 2023 summit shows how far we've come."

The sell-out summit was founded by a group of students

Jo Simpson, commercial and facilities director for Loughborough Sport, said: "The committee behind BISS demonstrated the power of the student voice to bring together established sport leaders to tackle the very real issue of discrimination against black people in the sector.

"We also understand this is just the start of something far bigger."