Keeping Britain Talking

Keep Britain Talking is the awareness campaign run by VisitBritain to encourage business in the UK to keep communicating through meetings and events, and also to support the UK meetings industry by holding those events in the UK.

I played my part this week by jumping on a double-decker routemaster bus with the Business Tourism and Event Solutions teams from Visit London.

The purpose of our extreme bus ride was to have a lengthy meeting, lasting from Paddington station to the Birmingham NEC, whilst promoting the new Visit London business branding along the way.

The Global Radio Big Events Bus also served to remind those pointing and taking photos of us as we navigated our way out of London, that there's a host of quirky meeting spaces available to event planners in the capital.

Keep Britain Talking is the campaign theme for National Meetings Week, which runs from 21-27 September. It coincides with the NEC exhibition Event UK so, the bus has another role to fulfill this week as it turns into Visit London's exhibition stand.

During National Meetings Week, key partners and supporters will be getting across the message that the meetings and events industry in Britain is worth more than £22billion. Around 80 million people attend 1.5 million conferences held annually in the UK and business visits and events account for some 5.3million jobs either indirectly or directly.

Check out the video embedded below for more information or go to the Keep Britain Talking website.

London Twestival turns up the tweets

London Twestival (or @LDNTwestival as it’s more commonly referred to on Twitter) took place last night at Vinopolis (or @vinopolislondon - you get the idea).

The wine attraction near London Bridge in Borough Market, gave over its four main cavernous event spaces so that the tweeting masses could party in aid of ChildLine.

More than 700 Twitter users bought tickets through the micro-blogging website, with all the proceeds going to the UK’s free 24-hour helpline for children in distress or danger.

Everyone involved with the Twestival event gave their time and services free of charge and the result was a party, rich in content and flowing with free booze.

Fresh from their tour supporting U2, The Hours joined a line-up of bands that included Newton Faulkner and Sound of Rum.

For the £15 charitable donation, guests could experience zones dedicated to arts and crafts, face-painting, DJ sets and collaborative story telling. Free drinks all night were supplied by Magners Pear Cider and Barefoot Wine.

Vinopolis is no stranger to hosting bands with the Friendly Fires and Scouting for Girls having played the venue in the recent past. But, this was a conveyor belt of talent performing on its main stage throughout the night.

Vinopolis excelled itself and transformed the overall Twestival backdrop with its stunning in-house lighting capabilities. Twitter folk are, by nature a sociable bunch. This is one event that will be talked about online and offline for a long time to come.

For more of my photos from London Twestival, check out my Facebook Album.