Last week, a delegation from Manchester has returned to the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas.
The group included colleagues from Marketing Manchester, the University of Manchester, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the GM Business Growth Hub – whilst on the trip they highlighted innovation and culture from the city to a mostly US audience.
Over 300,000 delegates attend the annual event that features tech conferences, immersive exhibitions, a music and film festival and is widely regarded as one of the premier global events for businesses to connect.
Victoria Braddock, Managing Director at Marketing Manchester said:
“North America is a key market for engagement across Manchester’s priority sectors – leisure, business tourism and investment. Returning to SXSW provides a platform to showcase our growth as leaders in these industries, as well as the opportunity to build on our existing relationship with the city of Austin, a destination that we share many similarities and a shared vision for the future with.”
Manchester’s pitch at SXSW
On Monday 11th March, the delegation hosted ‘Manchester Presents’ at Downright Austin, as part of the Official SXSW festival line up.
During the afternoon, the University of Manchester brought expert panelists to the stage to lead on a interactive debate on what lies ahead for future cities and how ambitious, post-industrial urban centres like Austin and Manchester will become the drivers of national and global progress.
Following this, entrepreneurs, creatives, education and business tourism professionals were invited to meet for networking drinks at Creekside Patio, with a special performance by UK Chart toppers and home-grown Manchester indie band, The Lottery Winners.
In 2021 the US was Greater Manchester’s most valuable export destination, with firms in the city-region exporting £794 million worth of goods across the Atlantic, accounting for about 12% of total goods exports that year and representing a 22% increase since 2017.
The US is also Greater Manchester’s largest services export partner, with the value of services exports topping £1.9 billion – around 26% of the total.
The US is also the third biggest source of international visitors to Greater Manchester and the second most valuable, with US tourists spending around £73.2m in the city-region’s economy in 2019.
Ryan Maley, Digital Manager at Marketing Manchester, Maya Powell, Communications specialist: GM Business sectors, MIDAS and Lisa Durrant, Marketing Manager at Marketing Manchester.
Becki Coen, Programme Manager for the Digital, Creative & Tech Sectors as part of the Create Growth Programme at BGH attended as part of the Manchester delegation with four of the regions SMEs.
Tom Besford, Tom Chief Executive of Sound Roots; Natasha Hawthornthwaite, Co-Founder & Director at Northern Heart; Mike Todd, Chief Executive at Near-Life™; and Lucy Smith, Head of People and Growth at Doodledo had the opportunity to develop relationships in the US and make the most of the SXSW festival.