The International Festival for Business (IFB) makes connections across thousands of business globally and annually runs three weeks of networking and events. Each week is split by manufacturing, energy and environment, and creative and digital and is filled with business advice, appointments, TED talks, and presentations.
This year’s IFB was held at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool and The Venue, at the Royal Liver Building hosted three fringe events for delegates and local professionals:
Food and Drink Exporters Association
The Food and Drink Exporters Association returned to The Venue for the second time, after hosting an event here in 2015. Guests were welcomed to the Bella Ballroom for a welcome drinks reception before being treated to a British themed bespoke menu by Dougherty and Allen. Catering was specifically tailored to showcase the best of local and British food produce to encourage future exporting opportunities. The Venue received wonderful feedback from the client stating they were “delighted with the venue and the dinner arrangements and for the excellent service and delivery of the event”.
Dong Energy
A selection of the Dong Energy team utilised the boardroom for a close nit meeting in the afternoon before heading to the Dong Energy Reception at The Venue, Royal Liver building on the first floor. The reception was part of a series of events hosted by Dong Energy & Counter Context surrounding IFB Energy and Environment week. After the MD Jeff Whittingham welcomed guests, Mayor Joe Anderson said a few words on the impact the IFB & Dong has had on the city.
The guests enjoyed the sunshine on the balcony along with a glass of prosecco and canapes, guests then made a short walk across the pier head to embark on a trip on the Mersey ferry see one of the Dong Energy project sites.
Transport for the North
The Venue hosted the Independent Economic Review for Transport for the North, a part of the Northern Powerhouse. The were pleased to host the City of Liverpools Mayor, Joe Anderson, who spoke at the conference to 200 delegates. He discussed the impact of Liverpool to the Northern Powerhouse and also gave an overview and update on the latest transport developments. The event was filmed and interviews took place in The Venue which were later broadcasted on Northwest Tonight, BBC News. Feedback from the client was very complementary and the Venue scored 10 out of 10: “Excellent service, location, and venue. Extremely helpful throughout. The day went perfectly. The catering was excellent”.
The IFB was a huge success for the city and is set to return to Liverpool in 2018!