Businesses given a chance to get involved with high profile Sunderland events

Crowds on Sunderland seafront at last year's airshow

Sunderland City Council is inviting local businesses to its ‘Meet the Buyer’ event at the National Glass Centre’s Riverside Suite on Wednesday February 8, at 10am to find out about upcoming opportunities to support events such as the airshow and Tall Ships Race.

Coun John Kelly is the council’s Portfolio Holder for Public Health, Wellness and Culture: “The council is very keen to build on its mutually beneficial relationships with existing contractors, and to encourage new contractors to do business with us,” he said.

“I would urge local suppliers to come along to the event to learn more about what is coming up and to take advantage of the opportunities available.”

Head of Events, Victoria French added: “In recent years just the two largest events from the many that are held in the city attract over 1 million visitors and contribute an estimated £14-15million to the city’s economy.

“This event is aimed at giving as many businesses and organisations the information and opportunity to support the delivery of such important highlights in the city’s year.

Events to be discussed include:

*The Tall Ships Races 2018: Sunderland will be welcoming around 80 vessels, 3,000 crew from more than 15 countries and up to between 900,000 and 1.5million spectators expected during the four day event, which is expected to be worth up to £28million to the city;

*Sunderland Illuminations: The Illuminations attracted more than 210,000 visitors last year with estimate spending during the event of £1.96m

*Sunderland International Airshow: The three day event attracts between 800,000 and a million visitors, with a projected economic benefit to the city of £12-£14million a year.

Ted Salmon, North East England Regional Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses , said: “We wholeheartedly encourage our local members to register for the ‘Buy Sunderland First’ Scheme.

Anyone interested in attending the Meet the Buyer event will need to register via the website www.eventbrite.com/e/the-tall-ships-races-sunderland-2018-meet-the-buyer-event-tickets-31282764591 by no later than Friday, February 3.