Three weeks left to submit Business Festival events
Businesses wishing to run an event in the Black Country Business Festival have just under three weeks to get their applications in before the closing date on Friday 22nd February.
The Business Festival is a fortnight of business events taking place all over region between 23 April and 4 May 2018.
Any business of any size can apply to run an event in the Festival – which can take any shape from a seminar or workshop through to a trade show or major conference.
Events should aim to benefit local businesses; showcase what the region has to offer, or be about something topical. This could include how to source new supply chains, exporting and selling to foreign markets, improving staff retention or perhaps how recent political events might affect small businesses, for example.
Applying to run an event is a simple process via a short application form on the Business Festival website (www.blackcountrybusinessfestival.com/apply) - but this is only available until 22 February and already, the programme is filling up.
As many as 75 individual seminars, lectures, workshops and conferences are expected to take place and around 7,000 people are anticipated to attend. Business Festival events are generally completely free to go to, but as spaces could be limited, it is essential to book tickets in advance.
It is the first time a Business Festival of this kind has been run in the Black Country. The Black Country Chamber of Commerce is the driver behind the idea. The Festival is sponsored by Cox & Plant and the Federation of Small Businesses, supported by the University of Wolverhampton, Talbots Law, Wolverhampton Racecourse, the Express & Star and Midlands in Business magazine and run in partnership with Associate Events Ltd.
Corin Crane, chief executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce (pictured) said, “This is the Black Country’s first Business Festival. The rest of the country will be watching us, so we all need to pull together to make sure it’s a resounding success – not only for the businesses in our area to grow, share and learn from each other, but also to show the rest of the world that this is the Black Country and we’re amazing at what we do here!
“Everyone thinking of running an event should get a move on and submit their application, because there’s less than three weeks to go before the deadline, and the calendar is getting quite busy.
“To apply, there’s a really simple form on the website to fill in. Once you’ve pressed send, a member of the delivery team from Associate Events will be in touch to ‘dot the i’s and cross the t’s’ before the event goes live on the website for people to book on to. If anyone needs any help with anything such as finding a venue, then pick up the phone now – before it’s too late.”
Andy Cox, managing director of Business Festival sponsor, Cox & Plantsaid, “The Business Festival is a fantastic initiative for this area. I would encourage all businesses - whatever size, to get involved as it will provide a great way to raise their profile, whilst helping other Black Country companies and putting our region at the forefront of UK business.”
Once event applications are accepted, events are posted on the website and tickets become available to the public.
As part of the Festival, a number of local venues have offered space for free or at heavily discounted rates. These venues are listed on the website at www.blackcountrybusinessfestival.com/venues
Limited sponsorship opportunities are also still available. To find out more or for help organising an event, email hello@blackcountrybusinessfestival.com or call 01902 912304.
For general information, visit the website www.blackcountrybusinessfestival.com
