Special report: Liverpool City Region – the legacy of IFB2016
THE director of the International Festival for Business 2016, which took place in Liverpool in the three weeks to July 1, has hailed the event as an outstanding success as it provided a £265m uplift to the local economy.
Ian McCarthy described IFB2016 as a massive opportunity for the Liverpool City Region and the north, which it “grabbed with both hands”.
“We delivered an event in 2015 and we have done so again this summer and we’re already planning it for 2018 and 2020,” he said.
“The opportunity for Liverpool to have something that’s equivalent to the Haigh Literature Festival, Farnborough Air Show, Glastonbury, Edinburgh Festival into the middle of the next decade was in our hands.
“It’s an opportunity the city region has seized and that’s great.”
McCarthy said there were practical benefits where there were 75 events, international events, trade events over the three weeks, focused on manufacturing, energy and the environment, creative and digital week by week, all under one roof.
“These events drove about 40% footfall from international businesses,” he said. “It was a very different model to that which was delivered in 2014.
“There were business-to-business events, international business advice and about 20 providers from all over the UK offering free advice.”
This story is part of a 16-page special report on the Liverpool City Region.
To download the full report for free, click here
“There were matching services so you could put your business’s offers, requests and your profile on, to match with the UK and international businesses and have some conversations.
“Those practical opportunities were there for all small businesses. This was not just about big business interests, although it was supported by big business. HSBC, Google, BT, DONG Energy were all backers.
“It was an opportunity for some businesses to explore markets, sectors and opportunities without leaving the UK.”
Guest speakers included Sir Martin Sorrell and former South African President F W de Klerk, other business and cultural leaders.
McCarthy said £1.2m was spent on marketing in the 18 months prior to the event.
“We had Blue Skies as partners, The Sunday Times, advertising in The Sunday Times, national, international and regional PR companies, organisations in the city Region with the LEP, Chambers,” he said.
And it paid off, he added. “We had 30,000 businesses coming to the festival in the three weeks with contracts with events promoters. In my view it was a huge success.”
This story is part of a 16-page special report on the Liverpool City Region.
To download the full report for free, click here
