A SENIOR aide to the Mayor of London who helped lead the delivery of London’s successful hosting of the UEFA 2020 Euro’s, is to be honoured by the Mayor, after losing his six-year battle against cancer.

Wayne Sullivan, aged 37, from Croydon, died in March 2023 from colon and liver cancer. Wayne’s funeral was held on Friday May 12th in south London, and was attended by the Mayor and over 100 close friends and family. On May 30th, a special event was held at City Hall in celebration of Wayne and to launch a project to make a short film about his life.  

Colon cancer is a form of bowel cancer which is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer, claiming more than 16,500 lives a year, and recent research has found that many people are unaware of key cancer warning signs. Wayne kept himself as fit as possible and after his first cancer operation, when he was in remission, he mistakenly thought he was losing a lot of weight because of his gym workouts. Sadly it turned out to be a sign that his cancer had returned. 

Despite his health challenges, Wayne lived life to the fullest and was the life and soul of every social occasion. His successful marketing and events career included helping to deliver the UEFA 2020 Euro’s, coordinating London’s NYE celebrations, and most recently, bringing major E-Sport events to the capital as part of his work with London & Partners.

Wayne was also a strong advocate for equality and helped coordinate Pride London celebrations. He was an active member of the GLA’s Race Equity Network and, in his spare time, he was a trusted mentor to young people in his local community – especially young Black men who wanted help with career goals. 

As a tribute to Wayne’s positive and enduring legacy, the Mayor Sadiq Khan is set to re-name City Hall’s popular Media, Marketing & Digital Communications Internship as the ’Wayne Sullivan Communications Internship’. The scheme launched in 2019 and has helped talented young people gain a year’s valuable work experience at City Hall and develop careers in marketing and PR. 

Wayne was pivotal in setting up the scheme which provides graduates from Black and Asian and minority ethnic communities – currently under-represented in the industry – with invaluable paid work experience. City Hall is currently interviewing candidates for September’s 2023 cohort.

An additional legacy project is being organised by Wayne’s friends who have set up a crowdfunder to help deliver his last wish – to create a thought-provoking short film about his life and health journey. The film will help raise awareness and inspire people to make the most of precious time. Wayne wanted the short film to offer hope and encourage people to follow their dreams and live life to the fullest, despite any obstacles and challenges that life presents. 

The film’s crowdfunder opened on Friday May 12th and has already raised over £6,000 of its £35,000 goal. The City Hall event today will officially launch the film project and will include  a discussion with the writer/director Wayne asked to make the film, Michelle Jones, an multi-award winning filmmaker.

“Wayne was a much-loved colleague who led on multiple high-profile projects that showcased the very best of our capital”

Sadiq Khan

The Mayor said: “Wayne was a much-loved colleague who led on multiple high-profile projects that showcased the very best of our capital. Wayne’s commitment to his work, his passion for equality and resilience against all odds inspired many of us.

“His talent, positivity and strategic vision were highly valued and will be sorely missed. I’m proud to rename the graduate scheme he helped found in his honour and I hope his legacy will encourage many more young people from diverse communities to kickstart a career in marketing and communications.”

Last winter after seeing her debut film ‘Uncle’, Wayne asked writer/director Michelle Jones to help him create a short film about his life and how to make the most of time during his cancer journey. 

Michelle said: “Wayne knew the story he wanted to tell and was driven (in true Wayne fashion) to make it happen. Even when it was evident that he might not be here to see it. For the last two months of his life we met weekly on video calls to craft the story he wanted to tell.

“Our last call was the Monday just before he passed away. We concluded that we wanted to explore the concept of time and how precious life is. In this film I want to portray his health journey whilst capturing Wayne’s insatiable appetite for life, his warmth, humour, strong friendships and joy. Wayne wanted the film to bring hope to people facing similar challenges and raise awareness, whilst giving insight into his life which was filled with friendship and laughter.”

Wayne’s sister, Tanisha Sullivan said: “Our lives have changed since Wayne’s death. He had a special way of bringing his family and friends together, he was a beloved son, brother and uncle and our hearts are broken. 

“At 37, Wayne had so much life to live, so many goals and dreams to chase. One of his dreams was to make it to his 40th birthday and throw a big party for everyone he loved, but sadly that will never happen.

“Wayne was very passionate and motivated and always strived for excellence,  he was committed to his work and took pride in his accomplishments. It is a great comfort for us to hear and see the positive impact Wayne made during his life. 

“We know that cancer doesn’t discriminate, it affects people of every age and every ethnicity, and we encourage everyone, especially younger people, to look out for symptoms, and speak to their doctors before it’s too late.”