Finalists for the 2016 Flame Awards were unveiled yesterday afternoon (26 April) by ukactive executive director Steven Ward during a live webinar.

Leisure centre operator Everyone Active led the way with eight nominations, closely followed by 1Life with six. énergie Group and Fusion Lifestyle both received four nods, while Places for People Leisure and GLL have three apiece.

The awards – which are sponsored by Matrix Fitness – will be announced at a glitzy show taking place on 29 June at Telford International Centre. As ever, they will be held in conjunction with the annual Flame Conference – which will this year see New Zealand rugby star and motivational leadership expert Sean Fitzpatrick deliver a keynote speech.

Also speaking at Flame is futurist Stefan Hyttfors, who has worked with brands such as Unilever, IBM and PwC to teach businesses how to deal with change in an uncertain world.

Meanwhile, Andrew Macmillan, head of customer Service at John Lewis for three decades and now consultant in customer experience to local authorities, will cover the importance of a strong customer journey.

These speakers will be joined by a host of breakout sessions around the themes of emerging trends and sector insight, with further speakers to be announced around customer service, social media and innovation in business.

For the full list of finalists, click here.