The Fork Lift Truck Association has confirmed an Olympic-quality line-up of entertainment for the industry's Awards in 2012, co-hosted by world-leading sporting icon Sally Gunnell OBE.
The greatest female athlete this country has ever produced, and the only woman in history to have ever concurrently held all four major championship gold medals - Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European - as well as the World record, Sally is the spirit of excellence personified.
Recently voted one of the country's top ten Olympic heroes in a public poll, Sally is as popular as she is inspirational. A regular on TV and a widely respected motivational speaker, her career has embraced roles as diverse as Red Cross ambassador in Angola and spearheading charity events such as Cancer Research UK's Race for Life.
FLTA Chairman Martyn Fletcher says: "This year's Awards ceremony is going to be the best yet. In a year that sees the UK host the world's greatest sporting event - the Olympics - who better than Sally Gunnell OBE to present this industry's awards? Sally represents everything these awards stand for - excellence, drive and achievement."
A total of twenty four nominations from nineteen different companies from the UK, Europe and beyond will vie to earn an Archie - the Oscar of the fork lift truck industry - at Awards 2012, on Saturday 18 February at Birmingham's Hilton Metropole.
Opening the Awards ceremony will be Joe Oakley, star of a sport that made its Olympic debut four years ago in Beijing: BMX. Most recently, Joe impressed judges and national television audiences alike with his incredible skill and balance on the live semi-finals of ITV's Britain's Got Talent.
After the presentation, and a sumptuous dinner, Tina Turner tribute Kinisha will kickstart the evening's entertainment with a high-octane show capturing the very essence of the world's greatest ever female rock legend.
Later, after their phenomenal performance at last year's Awards, John Oliver's LIVE! are back by popular demand. The UK's leading eleven-piece party band, LIVE! brought the house down in 2011, and are set to fill the dance floor once again.
Voting for Awards 2012 is now open, and all users of materials handling equipment are strongly encouraged to vote. This includes anyone who owns or hires fork lift trucks, as well as those who manage, supervise or train fork lift operators - and, of course, the operators themselves.
For more information about this year's finalists, and how to cast a vote online, go to the Awards section of the FLTA website at www.fork-truck.org.uk/awards. Voting closes on Wednesday 18th January 2012.