Birmingham is planning to strengthen its global events city status by taking its own stand at IMEX this month. The city’s IMEX presence will see Birmingham Convention Bureau (BCB), which is operated by Marketing Birmingham and with additional funding and support from Advantage West Midlands, joined by the International Convention Centre (ICC) and CVOne.

While other English cities are represented at the three-day exhibition alongside VisitBritain, Birmingham will be the first city outside London to have a stand-alone presence, reflecting the importance of the events industry to the regional economy and the confidence of Marketing Birmingham in the city’s ability to attract international acclaim.

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Ian Taylor, commercial director at Marketing Birmingham explained: “IMEX is an important date in the calendar for the industry, with attendees visiting exhibitors on an appointment basis. This means that before we arrive we have a full diary of hosted buyers and corporate visitors who specifically wish to find out more about Birmingham.

“In research that we commissioned last year, it was revealed that the events industry in the West Midlands is worth a staggering £6bn to the regional economy and £2.3bn in Birmingham alone. It is therefore clearly essential that we continue to grow this area and attract more high profile events to the city, creating more employment opportunities and increasing income for our hotels, restaurants, bars, attractions and transport operators, as well as grabbing the attention of the media to facilitate in improving perceptions of Birmingham.

“Birmingham is one of Europe’s busiest meeting points and by securing major high profile events such as the Conservative Party Conference, BBC Sports Personality of the Year and the European Athletics Indoor Championships, people are really starting to sit up and take notice.

“We need to build on this quickly and IMEX gives us the perfect opportunity to get in front of serious event organisers and showcase what Birmingham has to offer.”

As well as promoting the modern venues and facilities in the city at IMEX, BCB will also demonstrate the rich culture of Birmingham with live jewellery making displays throughout the show from manufacturers based in the historic Jewellery Quarter, where 40% of the UK’s jewellery is produced.