Coventry & Warwickshire Business Festival tickets now available to book

Tickets for confirmed events in the Coventry & Warwickshire Business Festival are now live on the website www.cwbusinessfestival.com

Over 50 applications to host events have been submitted by organisations wanting to be part of the first Business Festival to take place in Coventry & Warwickshire.

Developed by the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the Coventry & Warwickshire Growth Hub, the Festival will run for two weeks from 20th November to 1st December 2017.

Any business or organisation of any size can apply to run an event, which can take any shape from a small networking meeting, workshop or seminar to a large trade show or a national conference.

Applications to host events close on 22nd September. As events are confirmed into the programme, they are uploaded to the website for people to book tickets to attend.

All events are business related and ones which will benefit businesses or employees in Coventry and Warwickshire. Nearly all events are free to attend the programme is already very varied ranging across different business sectors.

They include a large Food and Drink event that will connect buyers from across the country with local suppliers; seminars relating to marketing, copywriting, finance, HR, using feedback to improve organisational performance and how to improve team communication to increase business growth; a Leisure and Tourism networking event; a seminar about managing health and wellbeing in the workplace; and a topical women in business event: “Woman Who” featuring well-known, inspirational speakers.

There will also be various topical economic-based events including an economic outlook breakfast and a seminar on how Coventry & Warwickshire can make Brexit work for the region plus an opportunity for business leaders to attend an exclusive round table event with the Bank of England. In addition, a careers speed networking event being held in Coventry will give 450 year 10 and 12 students from across the region the opportunity to come face to face with up to 75 local employers.

Craig Humphrey, managing director of the Coventry & Warwickshire Growth Hub, said: “Already several events are live on the website and people have started to book their tickets to attend.

“The reaction to the Festival from the business community has been fantastic. There is a great mix of different events that will appeal to everyone from micro-business owners to employees in large corporates.

“Similarly, there are events taking place from organisations right across the region from Stratford in the south right up to North Warwickshire, so we are confident there will be a good geographical spread of events that will make up a comprehensive and exciting fortnight.

“It will provide a solid platform to show how our businesses have united to be a driving force in commerce, innovation and culture.”

The aim of the Festival is to stimulate local business growth and shout about the strength of Coventry and Warwickshire businesses and the fantastic breadth of industries based in the region.

Jonathan Browning, chairman of the Coventry & Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said: “The Business Festival is proving to be very popular with Coventry and Warwickshire businesses who are keen to get involved something new and different that will boost local business growth as well as raising the profile of Coventry & Warwickshire on a local, regional and national scale.

“Through the Business Festival, we hope to demonstrate the strengths, opportunities and potential of this area and show that Coventry and Warwickshire is the ‘Knowledge Capital of the UK.’”

The Business Festival has an expected market reach of around two million in year one alone. Around 50-75 seminars, lectures, workshops and conferences and 5,000 - 7,500 attendees (with around 15-18% of these being from outside of Coventry & Warwickshire), are anticipated over the fortnight.

The Festival is already receiving backing from many local businesses and organisations, with partners, sponsors and supporters including: Coventry University, the University of Warwick, the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, the FSB, thefutureworks, CityFibre, Coventry City Council, North Warwickshire Borough Council, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, Rugby Borough Council, Stratford on Avon District Council, Warwick District Council, Warwickshire County Council and Deeley Construction Ltd.

For more information, to book tickets or for details on how to apply to run an event, visit www.cwbusinessfestival.com or contact hello@cwbusinessfestival.com.