CMS and DNO winners of the SponsorRing

During the evening of Tuesday 17 November, CMS Derks Star Busmann (CMS) and the Netherlands Opera (DNO) were voted winners of the SponsorRing 2009 in the Art category.

The other nominees were Delta Lloyd & Foam Photography Museum and Essent & Arnhem Modebiënnale. The winners of the SponsorRings, including the Sponsor of the Year and the Sponsor Personality of the Year, were announced at a festive awards ceremony in Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam.

According to the jury report, CMS and DNO were awarded the prize thanks to the innovative OperaFlirt sponsoring project. 'The way in which OperaFlirt has succeeded in involving young people in opera, a part of our cultural heritage which is not always very easy or accessible, is innovative and has great appeal. Through this project, CMS Derks Star Busmann has successfully developed relations with a relevant and interesting target group.'

OperaFlirt invites people under 30 years old to go to the opera for the first time. DNO intends to use OperaFlirt to lower the barriers to opera as an art form and to attract a new, young audience. CMS aims to introduce itself as a company that supports the very best in the performing arts and to create a space where young people can make contact with CMS and each other, with a view to recruitment among students and young professionals.

The SponsorRing was presented to Dolf Segaar, Managing Partner of CMS Derks Star Busmann, and Truze Lodder, Business Director of DNO. They were both delighted with the award. Dolf Segaar said: 'Our sponsorship only began at the start of 2009 and we have already received this award! That proves that we have already achieved one of our aims to make opera accessible to a young audience in an innovative way.'

Truze Lodder also responded with enthusiasm: 'We are so pleased that the success of OperaFlirt has been recognized with this prize. Since its very first edition, OperaFlirt has continued to grow and the available tickets have always sold out very quickly. What's more, the reactions of the participants have been extremely positive.'