Launch extravaganza fires up 2017 Leicester Business Festival
The third, annual Leicester Business Festival officially got underway this morning (Monday 23rd October) with an impressive launch, staged at Highcross Leicester.
The iconic city shopping centre was closed to the public as around 150 guests packed the lower mall to watch exciting presentations from key business and political leaders including the City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby; Principal of Leicester Castle Business School, Professor Dana Brown; Cllr Pam Posnett, Leicestershire County Council; small business owner, Eileen Richards from Eileen Richards Recruitment and Peter Cooper, Director of UK Shopping Centres for Hammerson (owners of Highcross Leicester).
The Leicester Business Festival will run for two weeks until 3rd November and thereare a staggering 154 events in the programme, taking place all over the city and county.
Events cover a vast range of business subjects and sectors. It features 65 communication, marketing and sales and 24 professional and financial services events; conferences such as the Women in Business celebration; awards ceremonies; the Leicester Business Event 2017 (LBE17) trade show; a ground-breaking national basketball conference; and businesses like DHL are even opening their doors for an exclusive tour of their new, multi-million pound facility at East Midlands Airport.
The Business Festival programme has something for everyone from micro-businesses through to large corporates. Most events are completely free to attend.
Scott Knowles, Chair of the Leicester Business Festival Steering Group said: “For the next two weeks, the Festival will provide opportunities to learn more about what is happening in business locally, to network, discuss and learn.
“Having limited the number of events to 150, to give businesses a chance to attend as many as possible, the Steering Group placed a focus on quality over quantity. I hope this will be apparent as delegates go from event to event.”
The Business Festival’s headline partner is Leicester Castle Business School. Principal, Professor Dana Brown said, “I think that there are some key reasons for the dynamism in the region’s economy. A core factor is the community here in Leicester and the resilience and creativity that has seen us through radically changing economic times.
“Leicester is a success story because of the way that government, local communities, schools, universities and businesses work together toward common interests. It creates a setting where investors and entrepreneurs can feel secure about their future, but it also creates a positive energy in Leicestershire, which is essential to attracting innovation. The Business Festival provides an excellent opportunity to display all that we have to offer here.
“Leicester Castle Business School is sponsoring the Business Festival for the next three years because we believe that the future of Leicester and the region is bright. The success of the region, continued growth and employment prospects for our graduates, are certainly key to our success as an institution. Yet, we do not see ourselves only as the beneficiaries, but like other educational institutions in the region, as key contributors toward it.
“Promotion of our city and region is a core component of DMU’s mission, and we firmly believe that in the current and future economic environment, universities will have a greater than ever role to play in regional economic development as a partner of business and government.”
Along with headline partners, the 2017 Festival has the support of well-known business organisations including East Midlands Chamber; LLEP Business Gateway; East Midlands Airport; the Federation of Small Businesses; Highcross Leicester; Brewin Dolphin; Leicester Racecourse and IBM.
Other supporters include East Midlands Trains, IOD, De Montfort University, University of Leicester and media partners, Capital FM, Global Radio, FU Media and the Leicester Mercury.
Any remaining tickets to events need to be booked on the Business Festival website promptly as tickets are going quickly. Visit www.leicesterbusinessfestival.com
