Member Article

International Festival of Business 2014 comes to North West

The Government’s international trade and export body, UKTI, has revealed the full scale of its involvement in the International Festival for Business 2014.

The programme of events, which will focus on particular sectors and on identified global markets, will be staged across Liverpool city region.

Organisers say it will showcase the region’s world class industrial and business assets before a global audience.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI is to be an official partner for the event and has revealed that every part of the region will have a part to play during the six-week festival according to each area’s individual business and sector strengths.

The six districts, Halton, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral and Liverpool city centre, will each host events which will showcase sectors of excellence and international significance:

Infrastructure, 10 June 2014, Sefton Green Economics/Renewables, 16 June 2014, Wirral ICT, 23 June 2014, Halton Education/Professional & Financial Services, 2 July 2014, IFB Hub Food, 3-4 July, Knowsley

Advanced Manufacturing, 7 July 2014, St Helens

Creative & Digital, 15 July 2014, IFB Hub

This builds on the city region’s industrial heritage based on the presence of signature companies and organisations, including Sci-Tech Daresbury in Halton; Halewood International and Dairy Crest in Knowsley; Peel and the region’s famous port and docklands in Sefton; Pilkington and NGF Europe in St Helens; and Cammell Laird shipyard in Wirral.

Liverpool city centre will be the festival’s main site for UKTI events covering education, professional and financial services, and digital and the creative industries.

These events will be held at the IFB’s Hub in Mann Island on the city’s waterfront.

The Hub, which will also house the event’s media headquarters, exhibition space and meeting room facilities, was announced as IFB 2014’s central nerve centre by the Minister for Cities, Greg Clark, in September.

A series of events dedicated to key UK industries and emerging markets around the world, including China, Latin America and India, has also been confirmed.

Confirmed events include:

UKTI Market Event: Latin America, 12 June 2014, IFB Hub UKTI Market Event: Benelux, Europe, 19 June 2014, IFB Hub UKTI Market Event: China/Hong Kong, 26 June 2014, IFB Hub

UKTI Market Event: USA, 4 July 2014, IFB Hub

UKTI Market Event: India, 10 July 2014, IFB Hub

UKTI Market Event: SE Asia, 17 July 2014, IFB Hub

UKTI Market Event: Africa, 22 July 2014, IFB Hub UKTI Awards Ceremony, 23 July 2014, Knowsley Hall

UKTI is also offering IFB delegates an exclusive package of benefits, including free export health checks with trade advisors, free export market selection services and free entry into the IFB export competition, among other opportunities.

Clive Drinkwater, UKTI’s North West regional director said: “Our events are explicitly intended to highlight key sector strengths of the regional and UK economy to a diverse high-calibre international audience.

“These regional events will complement the programme of country events we have planned which combined encourage the best overseas companies to look to the UK as the global partner of choice and boost the number of companies in the region trading internationally.”

Max Steinberg CBE, chairman of IFB 2014, said: “Despite their close proximity, each of these districts has its own unique sector and industry strengths to offer.

“Our city centre has been a hive of thriving professional and financial services companies for quite some time, and the city’s more contemporary, creative and digital markets are consistently gaining pace and recognition for their prosperity.

“Similarly, Sci-Tech Daresbury has cemented itself as one of Europe’s leading sites for its developments in science, technology and innovation, and St Helens’ rich manufacturing history is still clearly evident today.

“We want to utilise each area as best as possible. When we welcome thousands of guests from around the world next year, we want to position Liverpool City Region as best as possible to share its wide array of strengths. We’re confident that, by holding the festival’s programme of events across the stretch of the Mersey we will present the best inward investment and export propositions to our city region companies.”

IFB 2014 will see a global 250,000-strong business audience arrive in the city over six weeks in June and July next year. Events will be staged at venues across the city and video screens throughout the Hub will stream live footage from those events.

The International Festival for Business is a 50-day, government-backed festival. It will connect UK businesses to new markets, new products and new partners and will be a global showcase of British industry.

The event has received backing from some of the UK’s leading business organisations, including EEF, the Confederation of British Industry, the Federation of Small Businesses, British Chambers of Commerce as well as UKTI. It forms a key part of the government’s ambition to promote economic growth, rebalance the economy and double UK exports by 2020.

British business champions and prominent entrepreneurs have also pledged their support for the festival. This week organisers have announced new ambassadors for the festival, including John Cridland CBE, Director General, Confederation of British Industry, Sara Murray OBE, serial entrepreneur and founder of Confused.com and Buddi and Terry Scuoler, Chief Executive, EEF, the manufacturers organisation.

IFB 2014 will play a key role in promoting two way trade and investment and forms a central part of the government’s ambition to promote economic growth, rebalance the economy and double UK exports by 2020. Millions of pounds will be injected into the Liverpool city region economy through event management activity and the spending of delegates plus visitors attending cultural events.

The festival will also coincide with the staging of The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, which will attract millions of global TV viewers and see hundreds of thousands of spectators arriving in the region.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .