French fashion designer Chanel is to sponsor The Boat Race from 2025 after announcing a long-term partnership marking its first foray into sport.

From next year the event will be named The Chanel J12 Boat Race, taking the name of one of the company’s high-end watches, and the fashion brand will also become its official timekeeper.

The deal, which will see Chanel replace cryptocurrency firm Gemini, will run until at least 2029 when the men’s race, which started in 1829, will celebrate its 200th anniversary, and the women’s race will turn 100 after being founded in 1929.

Boat in the water
Chanel will also become The Boat Race’s official timekeeper (Row360/The Boat Race/PA)

The race between Oxford and Cambridge universities is the oldest sporting event in the UK, and the 2025 edition will take place on Sunday April 13, along the 4.25 miles of the championship course between Putney and Mortlake in London.

Every year the event is watched by more than 250,000 spectators on the riverbank, broadcast live on the BBC, and watched by millions globally on television.

Frederic Grangie, president of Chanel watches and fine jewellery, said: “We are delighted to sign a strategic partnership with The Boat Race who share the same values of collective endeavour and the pursuit of excellence.

“It’s an honour to be the first-ever official timekeeper in the race’s 195-year history to simultaneously become title sponsor and principal partner.

“Synchronicity in rowing is as crucial to the race as watchmaking craftsmanship to ensure accurate timing. Every rower, like every mechanism in a watch, must work together as one; the balance, the weight and the oar movements must all be impeccably timed.

“We look forward to working with The Boat Race over the coming years to bring this partnership to life, through the world of Chanel and our iconic J12 watches.”

Despite the deal being Chanel’s first sports sponsorship, the brand has roots in sport, with Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, the company’s founder, being an active sportswoman, and using materials such as jerseys and tweeds to create her designs.

Siobhan Cassidy, chairwoman of The Boat Race Company, added: “On behalf of the wider Boat Race community, we are so thrilled to welcome Chanel as our new title sponsor.

“We knew when we first met, on June 10 – the same date as the first ever Boat Race in 1829 – that they understood the appeal of our event and we’re very confident that their involvement will help us take the event to new places and new people, as well as enhancing it for our millions of existing followers.”

The value of the sponsorship has not been disclosed.