Express & Star

Black Country Business Festival launches into third year

Applications to host an event in the third annual Black Country Business Festival have opened.

Published
The 2020 festival runs from May 11 to 21

They are now live on the Black Country Business Festival website for anyone who wishes to run an event in the nine-day programme from May 11 to 21.

Anyone can apply and events can be about anything and be run in any format, as long as they contribute positively to the business community and champion innovation, creation and culture.

The festival is run by the Black Country Chamber of Commerce and is managed by Associate Events.

It offers an opportunity for businesses to engage with potential customers, demonstrate skills and build a client database. It is free to host an event and the festival works with a variety of venue partners, who offer up building space and rooms to businesses.

Corin Crane, chief executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce said: "One of the chamber’s main functions is to introduce businesses and companies to new business platforms and encourage partnerships and collaboration. The business festival is one of the ways we manage to do this, business is done better together.

"The festival has seen tremendous appreciation and interest from people and companies within the Black Country and we are very excited to see what this year holds. I would encourage businesses to host events this year, as the festival only seems to get bigger and better."

Since it started in 2017 more than 8,000 people have attended 235 events. The festival also achieved a total circulation of 384,513 and 658,376 impressions on social media. Over 2,208 companies have been engaged, with 85 per cent reporting that BCBF positively affected their business.

Alister de Ternant, managing director of Associate Events said; "Associate Events is proud to support the region and the Black Country Chamber of Commerce in this amazing initiative. We are dedicated to ensuring the Ffestival continues to grow, develop and engage with more people each year to place the Black Country at the heart of the UK's business agenda _ this is a national event, held in the Black Country.”

Events are run in all four Black Country regions: Walsall, Dudley, Sandwell and Wolverhampton. They are then put into sectors so attendees can be select which industry they want to explore and skills they wish to learn. The categories this year are: advanced manufacturing; automotive; creative industries; education and skills; professional services; business support and communications; property, infrastructure and construction and retail, tourism and hospitality.

Following from the success of the ‘2019 Host to Host’ event, the Festival will again, hold a ‘2020 How to Host’ event on February 12 at the Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton. The meeting will offer advice and insight into managing events in the festival and attendees can use to opportunity to network with other event hosts.

Festival partners for 2020 are; University of Wolverhampton, DY5, Talbots Law, Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership and the Black Country Growth Hub and sponsors are; Casino36 and M6toll. The Ffestival is supported by Gecko Programmes and Walsall Council.

For more information on sponsorship or sector leads, e-mail hello@blackcountrybusinessfestival.com or call 01902 912304. For more information on the festival visit,www.blackcountrybusinessfestival.com

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