Agenda item

The Director of Economic Development submitted for the Committee’s consideration the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       The purpose of this report is to seek the Council’s support for the campaign to host the World Chambers Congress event in the City in 2023.  This bid is a joint effort involving many city and regional partners.  If successful, it is estimated that the congress would have an economic impact of almost £2million for Belfast. 

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is requested to:

                                          i.          note the proposed joint bid to hold the World Chambers Congress in Belfast in 2023; and

                                         ii.          agree to allocate up to £10,000 of Council resources towards the bid process and to approve the attendance at the Rio event in June 2019 of a senior officer from the Council, as part of a wider delegation from Belfast, with costs for attendance not to exceed £3,500.

3.0       Main Report

3.1       The Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NI Chamber), supported by Visit Belfast and Invest Northern Ireland, is bidding to host the ICC WCF World Chambers Congress in 2023 and is working in partnership with a range of Northern Ireland stakeholders to help drive the campaign and add weight to the bidding process.

3.2       The Congress is held every two years in a different region of the world, and is a three-day event that brings together over 1,000 delegates representing chamber leaders, business heads and key government figures. Travelling from across the globe, they attend to learn and be inspired by some of the world’s leading influencers – all with the goal of helping transform the future of business.

3.3       The opportunity to host the Congress in Europe only comes round every 8 years with the next European bidding cycle completing in autumn 2020.    NI Chamber has lobbied its networks in GB and ROI, and Belfast will go forward as the only UK/Ireland bidding city, with the support of the 52 UK and 24 Irish Chambers of Commerce.  This significantly enhances the strength of the Belfast bid.

3.4       The World Chambers Congress has been identified as a key strategic hosting opportunity and securing the Congress for Belfast could contribute an estimated £1.92m to the local economy as well as supporting the economic objectives of:

·        attracting foreign direct investment

·        establishing links for international trade and

·        promoting business and leisure tourism.

3.5       NI Chamber has initiated a two-year bidding campaign which will culminate in the final bid presentation to members of the World Chambers Federation General Council in November 2020.  In 2019, the campaign will focus on generating awareness of the Belfast bid as well as outreach to the key decision makers within international Chambers.  A core element of this strategy will include attendance at the 2019 World Chambers Congress being held in Rio de Janiero in June this year.   It is a significant opportunity to:

·        Showcase Belfast’s bid proposition and all associated messaging

·        Connect with Chamber representatives from the judging panel

·        Evidence commitment to supporting the congress through sponsorship

·        See the Congress first hand to aid Belfast’s own bid development.

3.6       The promotional campaign will continue in 2020 and align with the application process.  This will involve a range of engagement and outreach activities to build the case for Belfast as the preferred host city.  It is likely to include activities such as engagement with WCF judging chambers, hosting international speakers from the WCF network, bid brand and messaging development and bid book development outlining the city’s proposition.  As part of the process, there will be a site visit to Belfast encompassing a visit to the venue and engagement with partners to establish the nature of the local support for the bid.  The details of the bid will be presented directly to the World Chambers Federation Jury in November 2020.

3.7       Given the scale of investment required and the need for input across a range of public and private partners, NI Chamber is bringing together a steering group comprised of key stakeholders.  The Council has been asked to be part of that steering group, alongside other partners including Invest NI, British Chambers of Commerce, Chambers Ireland, Visit Belfast and ICC Belfast. These partners are also being asked to resource the bid development process over the coming two years.  The amount requested from the Council is £10,000 towards the bid development activity.  In order to demonstrate the breadth of support for the bid, the Council has also been asked to consider sending a senior officer to Rio for the upcoming World Chambers Congress.  The costs associated with attending this event will not exceed £3,500.  If the bid is successful, the organisers will seek to draw down funding from the conference subvention scheme which is funded by the Council and Tourism NI. 

3.8       Financial and Resource Implications

            The financial ask of the Council is £10,000 towards the 2019/20 bidding process.  The Council has also been asked to consider attendance at the Rio 2019 event by a senior officer.  Costs associated with attendance at this event will not exceed £3,500.  The NI Chamber has also asked the Council to consider appointing a senior officer to be part of the steering group for the bid process. The aforementioned costs will be drawn from existing Economic Development Departmental budgets.

3.9       Equality or Good Relations Implications/ Rural Needs Assessment

            No specific equality or good relations implications.  No issues associated with the Rural Needs Assessment.”

            The Director of Economic Development, in addressing issues which had been raised around the costs contained within the report, pointed out that the funding being sought to support the City’s joint bid would be used for development activity. In terms of an officer’s attendance at this year’s event, he confirmed that the amount being requested was reflective of the cost of travel and accommodation and stressed that the experience gained by that officer would prove beneficial, should Belfast’s bid be successful.

The Committee adopted the recommendations.