Over 300 city centre fringe events planned for Tory conference.
Birmingham will stage more than 300 fringe events at the Conservative Party Conference, which it hosts from Sunday 29th September – Wednesday 1st October. The conference is expected to attract 14,000 delegates including 1600 media.
Birmingham partners will use the event to discuss and debate themes key to the city’s growth. This city’s fringe programme features events on themes such as regional devolution, connectivity and infrastructure, a ‘revival’ in manufacturing and support for the creative industries.
The Conservative Arts and Creative Industries Network (CACIN) will hold various sessions, introducing themes such as ‘Access to finance in the creative industries’, and ‘The role of intellectual property in building a creative nation’. Afternoon and evening sessions are due to take place at Fazeley Studios in Digbeth on Monday 29th September.
Academic institutions looking to showcase their lead on the conference agenda include Birmingham City University, who are hosting a session entitled ‘Pipedream or plausible – a manufacturing revival?’ On Tuesday, Transport Times Events will host “Great transport for great cities: How important is infrastructure for rebalancing our economy?” Speakers will include Sir Albert Bore; Leader of Birmingham City Council, Professor David Begg; Chief Executive of Transport Times, Robert Goodwill MP; Transport Minister, and Paul Kehoe; Chief Executive of Birmingham Airport.
This year’s autumn conference will mark the 11th political party conference the city has welcomed in the last six years, thanks to a collaborative approach between city partners Marketing Birmingham, Birmingham City Council and the NEC Group.
Catherine Newhall-Caiger, Business Development Director from the ICC said: “We have worked closely with our city partners to organise the Conservative Party Conference at the ICC. High profile conferences like this have a considerable impact on the city and the surrounding area; we’re expecting Birmingham to benefit from a £17 million boost to the local economy, making this the city’s most economically significant political party conference to date.”
For the fringe programme listing or for more information about the conference, a dedicated website has been set up for party delegates and media. Details of the city’s policy agenda and leisure offering, as well as travel advice and exclusive discount vouchers are also included: www.conservativesinbirmingham2014.com