Vision sheds light on IFB programme

Liverpool Vision has revealed details of some of the 50 events it says have been confirmed so far for the International Festival for Business in 2014.

The economic development agency hopes the 50 events will attract 75,000 delegates and deliver a £10m spending boost to the Liverpool city region economy.

The IFB will cost £15m, made up of a mixture of private sponsorship and public subsidy, including £5m rom Liverpool's City Deal pact with government.

Vision is forecasting an audience of 250,000 business people will visit the city during the six-week festival in June and July next year. The festival will have a focus on key UK business sectors and themes, including maritime, logistics and energy, higher education, manufacturing, science and technology, professional and financial services, low carbon and renewables and creative and digital.

Some of the events confirmed so far and announced today by Liverpool Vision are:

British Business Embassy: 5-6 June 2014. Liverpool Vision says, "Showcasing the best of British business over two days, the British Business Embassy was a hugely successful part of Britain's 2012 Olympic business legacy. Officially endorsed by the UK Prime Minister and delivered by UKTI, the event will help businesses to develop vital connections with established and emerging international markets including China, India and the US. Last year's event in London attracted 4,000 global business figures."

MADE: 10 June. "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. "The annual UDT exhibition and conference is the global event for the undersea defence and security community. It brings together professionals from across military, industry and academia to focus on the latest cutting edge technologies and developments."

UK Warehousing Conference: 13 June. "The UK Warehousing Association Annual Conference charts future developments in logistics strategy, operations and sustainability. Aimed at logistics directors and operators, the three-day conference will feature a networking dinner and an exhibition."

Global Leaders' Summit: 17-19 June. "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 & Local Government, a leading international organisation that counts more than 1,000 cities across 95 countries and 112 national local government associations amongst its members."

Accelerate '14: 20 June. "Building on the success of Accelerate 2013, an outstanding line-up of speakers from the world of business, media, culture, politics and sport will take part in this leading enterprise conference. The one-day event will provide a unique accelerator for growth, motivating and connecting high potential businesses to become the world-beating organisations that will lead the UK's economic fight-back."

World Corporate Games: 26-29 June. "Featuring the ultimate mix of sport, business and tourism, the World Corporate Games has placed unrivalled games opportunities in the hands of many of the world's most successful companies. 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."

Federation of Small Businesses National Council: 2 July. "The Federation of Small Business' National Council event will be 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. FSB is the UK's largest small business lobby group, representing more than 200,000 small businesses across 33 regions of the UK."

Cruise Business: 9-13 July. "Escape Events is hosting a three-day event delivering a B2B supply conference, networking and sales showcase, to be attended by executive and senior management from the cruise travel sector. It will also showcase a National B2C Cruise Show that will be attended by a target audience of 20,000 consumers."

British Chamber Annual Export Conference & Exhibition: 14-18 July. "British Chambers of Commerce and British Overseas Chambers, with local partner Liverpool Chamber, will celebrate the role all businesses play in delivering export growth. The new event will 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."

Dream Factory: 15-17 July. "Dream Factory is a brand new three-day event, combining movie premieres, expert master-classes and a gala dinner, promoting the film Industry in the North of England. The event, produced by Stuart Ford, producer of Walking with Dinosaurs, will profile the region to international film makers as an outstanding location and production centre."

Sound City Digital: 15-17 July. "Building on the hugely successful 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 Sports Business Congress: 21-22 July. "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."

Liverpool Vision said it expected to confirm scores more events in the coming months. Individual conferences and exhibitions will be held at venues throughout the city region and it is anticipated that events will also be held in other parts of the North West, including at one of the UK's two national science campuses, Sci-Tech Daresbury, and in Manchester.

• For more information, please www.ifb2014.com