When I was growing up, I remember hearing stories about the mass pilgrimages that people made to Liverpool in the hopes of hearing the Beatles play live. Although Beatlemania has just celebrated its 50 year anniversary, (is there now One Direction mania?), Liverpool still attracts millions of tourists who want to experience the city’s multiple cultural offerings, and is consistently one of the top five UK destinations for overseas tourists.
Since 2008, when Liverpool was named the European Capital of Culture, it has offered extensive opportunities to satisfy cultural aficionados, and this summer will be no different. In July, the British Open will be held at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, and in November, the Tate Liverpool will exhibit “Transmitting Andy Warhol,” the first solo exhibition of Warhol’s work in the north of England. And there’s the ever-popular Beatles tours, taking overseas visitors around town to mark the spots (the most popular being the Cavern Club) where the fab four met and played all those years ago.
The city also hosts a thriving business community. Jaguar Land Rover and Siemens have been in the region for years. Bentley Motors is headquartered nearby in Cheshire. As a major port city, Liverpool has attracted investment from transport and infrastructure companies such as The Peel Group, which is constructing a new deep-water container terminal that will become the UK’s first “green logistics hub.” The company will also generate at least 17,000 full-time jobs for the redevelopment of the Liverpool docklands that will feature a 60-story Shanghai Tower. The development will make use of a series of presently derelict dock spaces.
Most of the docks And just a one hour drive away from is the city of Manchester, which is also a business magnet for both UK-based and international companies, including the Bank of New York Mellon, Adidas, Siemens, and Kellogg’s.
Liverpool is also home to the “Knowledge Quarter,” an area in the city centre that is known for the presence of cutting-edge research and life sciences institutions such as the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Merseybio Incubator, a facility that features 15 laboratory units to help the development of start-ups in the life-science and chemistry industries.
With the mix of strong cultural and business offerings, it is no surprise that Liverpool is the perfect stage to host the UK’s biggest business festival since 1951, the International Festival of Business (IFB). The International Festival of Business is a 50-day event that runs throughout June and July. More than 150 business focused events will focus on enterprise and urban business, creative industries, manufacturing and technology, and financial services. Business delegates and trade intermediaries will have the chance to develop domestic and international business-to-business relationships while at the Festival.