Celebrating Yorkshire’s businesses alongside the Tour de France
A major new international business event will launch at the beginning of next month alongside the opening stage of this year’s Tour de France.
The Yorkshire Grand Départ International Business Festival, organised by UK Trade and Investment and Welcome to Yorkshire in association with partners, will run from 2-4 July. It will feature exhibitions, seminars, briefings and matchmaking events to celebrate the region’s businesses.
The agenda has been planned to build investment ambitions, facilitate networking with key commercial figureheads and create environments which build sustainable, high-quality partnerships, while raising the profile of the UK among foreign investors with international ambitions.
Trade minister Lord Livingston said, “The eyes of the world will be watching the Tour de France, and the festival provides a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate on a global stage the strength of Yorkshire and UK business in terms of creativity, quality design and world-class manufacturing.”
Lurene Joseph, CEO of Leeds and Partners, added: “The power, performance and passion of the Tour De France Grand Départ provokes intense attention from across the globe, so couple this key event in the sporting calendar with some of the most innovative business gatherings and you have a heady mix.
“The festival will be a significant catalyst for developing our pipeline of investment deals, pushing existing plans over the line, attracting inward investment and positioning the UK as a preferred destination for business and leisure travellers There are business events of an exceptionally high calibre happening in all major UK cities this summer, so commercial opportunities abound whatever the size or sector. We look forward to presenting Leeds and its many assets on the world stage.”
The programme culminates in a keynote economic conference and the opportunity for select partners to come together to experience the excitement of the start of the 2014 race as a guest of the city at the Grand Départ hospitality in Millennium Square.