Southbank Centre chairman Rick Haythornthwaite and a team of cyclists will ride 266 miles from Durham to London in 24 hours in an effort to raise the final £100,000 needed to restore the Royal Festival Hall organ. This last push for the Pull Out All The Stops campaign has received support from multiple Olympic track cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy.

‘It’s a real challenge riding the 266 miles from Durham to London’s Royal Festival Hall in 24 hours,’ said Hoy. ‘I am delighted to send my support to Rick Haythornthwaite and the team undertaking the Pull Out All the Stops Bike Ride and wish them all the very best for the ride and raising the final funds needed to complete the restoration of the Royal Festival Hall organ.’

At 12 noon on July 20, the team will set off on the 24-hour bike ride from the Harrison and Harrison organ building workshop in Durham to the Royal Festival Hall. Each cyclist will burn over 11,000 calories and ascend more than 4,300 feet over the course of the journey.

The Royal Festival Hall organ’s refurbishment and reinstallation has been undertaken by Harrison and Harrison Ltd, who originally installed the instrument in 1954. The company will reinstall the final third of the organ from July 19, 2013. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) awarded £950,000 towards the restoration in 2010.