Liverpool lends its red to coral reefs to raise awareness of bleaching

Four Liverpool players — Curtis Jones, Alexander Isak, Sam Kerr and Beata Olsson — are the faces of an awareness campaign on coral reef bleaching, launched jointly by Axa and the Tara Ocean Foundation. The short film is titled Reds for Red.

The parallel is as simple as striking: the Reds of Anfield are inseparable from the colour red, just as coral reefs, often red themselves, lose their hue — and their vitality — as they bleach under the effects of climate change and pollution. “What if Liverpool lost its red?” the campaign asks.

To make the phenomenon tangible, a sculpture representing the different stages of a coral was created, from vibrant red to complete white, before symbolic regeneration. The object was presented to supporters inside Anfield and around the stadium. “We wanted something tangible, so people could really see what’s happening in the water,” explains Clémentine Fischer, Sustainability Engagement Lead at Axa. The scientific reality behind the staging is brutal: a dying coral bleaches within seven days.

Martin Alessandrini, mission officer at the Tara Ocean Foundation, underscores the systemic importance of these ecosystems: “A coral is a gigantic colony of animals — tiny polyps — that together create a common skeleton and build these immense reefs. They protect islands and coasts from erosion, and serve as refuge for many communities. They play an essential role for all biodiversity.”

Axa has been a partner of Liverpool since 2018 and lends its name to the club’s training centre, the Axa Training Center. The Tara Ocean Foundation is a French organisation whose missions are dedicated to the study and protection of the oceans, with a particular focus on corals.