MORE than one million visitors are set to come Merseyside next year as part of the inaugural International Festival of Business, organisers Liverpool Vision claimed today.
Some 50 events have now been confirmed for the six-week June/July event, as have 75,000 delegates. It is estimated the IFB14 - and surrounding activity - will deliver a £10m spending boost to the Liverpool city region economy.
Among delegates will be 200 civic, political and business leaders from the world’s 50 leading cities who will gather in the city to discuss the challenges facing cities, regions and countries.
Vision has also announced an as-yet-”under-wraps” programme of cultural and entertainment events to run in parallel, which, it says, will bring “hundreds of thousands of other visitors to the region” , taking the total to over 1 million.
What is known is that the festival will coincide with the staging of The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, so plenty of opportunities for “networking” at the 19th hole.
Max Steinberg, chair of IFB2014, said the programme was already exceeding expectations and that, when combined with the cultural programme and other events, the city region would see one million-plus visitors over a two-month period.
“Cautious initial estimates suggest more than £10m will be spent by the 75,000 delegates so far confirmed – and there’s still almost a year to go,” he said.
'Invents things'
The gig also has the backing of the Prime Minister, David Cameron.
“Make sure you’re there to make the most of it,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for people around the world network to build contacts and, yes, do deals. It’s a great chance for British businesses to show what they are made of. Once again, this is a country that makes things, invents things and sells things to the rest of the world."
Individual conferences and exhibitions will be held at venues throughout Merseyside and in other parts of the North West, including at one of the UK’s two national science campuses - Sci-Tech Daresbury, Cheshire - and in Manchester.
John Cridland, Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, said: “Britain punches above its weight around the world but we are only 60 million in a 7 billion world so we have to.”
Networking jackpot: Events so far
BRITISH BUSINESS EMBASSY 5-6 JUNE 2014
Showcasing the best of British business over two days, the British Business Embassy was part of Britain’s 2012 Olympic business legacy.
MADE 10 JUNE 2014
The UK manufacturing awards event, MADE will provide a celebration of the best design and product development across the UK. It will include an awards ceremony, exhibition and series of conferences focusing on manufacturing challenges and opportunities.
UNDERSEA DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY 10-12 JUNE 2014
The annual UDT exhibition and conference is the global event for the undersea defence and security community.
UK WAREHOUSING CONFERENCE 13 JUNE 2014
The UK Warehousing Association Annual Conference charts future developments in logistics strategy, operations and sustainability.
GLOBAL LEADERS SUMMIT 17-19 JUNE 2014
More than 200 city leaders from around the world will come together for three days to debate the opportunities and challenges facing cities in the 21st century. This signature event has been developed with United Cities and Local Government.
ACCELERATE ‘14 20 JUNE 2014
Building on the success of ACCELERATE2013, a line-up of speakers from the world of business, media, culture, politics and sport will take part in this leading enterprise conference.
WORLD CORPORATE GAMES 26-29 JUNE 2014
The four day event will attract more than 8,000 delegates from blue-chip companies and international industry bodies. The event aids the realisation of how sports and games can revolutionise business.
UK PROPERTY FORUM 2 JULY 2014
National and international platform for property developers, investors, agents, architects and end users to consider the latest industry trends and network on a global platform.
FEDERATION OF SMALL BUSINESSES (FSB) NATIONAL COUNCIL
2 JULY 2014
"The most significant small business event of 2014". The event continues the Federation’s work to promote the interests of the self-employed and owners of small firms, creating a lively forum for FSB members to highlight the issues facing small businesses.
CRUISE BUSINESS 9-13 JULY 2014
Escape Events is hosting a 3-day event delivering a B2B supply conference, networking and sales showcase, to be attended by executive and senior management from the cruise travel sector.
BRITISH CHAMBER ANNUAL EXPORT CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION 14-18 JULY 2014
New event to encourage trade, share best practice and build relationships, ensuring support is available for businesses which are thinking of trading abroad for the first time or growing existing markets.
DREAMFACTORY 15-17 JULY 2014
New three-day event, combining movie premieres, expert master-classes and a gala dinner, promoting the film Industry in the North of England.
SOUND CITY DIGITAL 15-17 JULY 2014
Building on the international music festival, Sound City Digital will take an in-depth look at the game-changing impact that the digital revolution is having on the global music industry.
INTERNATIONAL SPORT BUSINESS CONGRESS 21-22 JULY 2014
An event where the diverse global sports sector meets business, commerce and leading academics and analysts to identify the latest trends in sports, economics, branding and media; take advantage of global networking opportunities, and get the latest insights from leading figures in sports and business.
