GEC’s summit day brings in £560,000
THE main summit day of Europe’s first Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC), held at ACC Liverpool this month, generated more than £560k for the city’s economy, initial economic impact figures have revealed.
Around 3,000 international delegates from 125 countries attended the summit to hear from a high-profile cast of speakers including Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson, former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Michael Heseltine, dotcom pioneer Martha Lane Fox and former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy.
The GEC was part of a wider week-long Festival of Entrepreneurship, that featured 80 events across the city attracting many more visitors to the city, including Liverpool Software City on March 14, which hosted 250 people and the Indie Games Showcase that attracted a further 150 people.
An online survey of attendees also showed the extent to which the event helped to boost the city’s profile.
Some 34% of attendees said they knew little about Liverpool before the event but 78% felt it was an entrepreneurial city.
Max Steinberg, chief executive of Liverpool Vision, said: “Liverpool’s GEC proved to be the largest event of its kind ever to be held anywhere in the world and it has been a resounding success. We have created a real legacy for the city while raising the bar for future GEC host cities.”
