Sound, light, and visual solutions company Adlib supplied technical solutions, system design and infrastructure, plus audio, lighting, AV and equipment for the 2014 International Festival for Business (IFB) in Liverpool, UK.

The Liverpool-based company won two competitive tenders issued by Liverpool Vision and worked closely with creative design specialist Evoke, who planned the various environments and event meeting spaces that were utilised throughout IFB.
Adlib invested about £250 000 in new equipment and the scope of work included helping to create the IFB’s Trade and Investment Hub and nerve-centre inside the Merseytravel building on Mann Island, which featured its own programme of events.
The second tender dealt with providing technical services and equipment for 150 main events in the festival that focussed on creating new international and domestic business-to-business relationships and commercial openings for UK companies of all sizes and sectors.

The 50-day IFB was the first edition of a new concept and the largest global concentration of business events during 2014. Running across June and July, it attracted business delegates and trade intermediaries from around the world.
The project was managed for Adlib by director Mark Roberts, who comments: “IFB was the largest and most unique business event in which we’ve been involved to date. We are exceedingly proud that Liverpool was chosen as a host city and also that we had the chance to rise to the many challenges and provide an unparalleled service to the required standards of excellence.”

The Hub was designed as a multi-purpose high tech aorta for all IFB activities with break-out conference, meeting and seminar spaces on three floors.

The ground floor included a bespoke stage style registration area, an interactive pentagon shaped pod fitted with five interactive screens used to navigate video footage of exciting projects within the city regions and branded exhibition walls featuring presentation screens that welcomed and directed all visitors to the IFB Hub.

On floor 3, eleven different spaces were created – again with walls installed by Adlib – together with The Cube, a 40-capacity conference area. A dedicated exhibition area featured a large LCD projection screen, and assorted infrastructure was deployed to support seven different exhibitors running for the duration of the event created by a variety of organisations.

Infrastructure to support six “Pod’ meeting rooms was also installed, together with a Green Room zone and the “Pub in the Hub’, a vital after-hours networking, socialising and meeting place that buzzed with activity after 18H00.

On floor 4, Adlib co-ordinated the technical requirements to support a Mayoral Suite – used as the Mayor Office of Residence for IFB 2014, BT’s boardroom and Liverpool Vision’s CEO and production offices, as well as another Green Room and assorted press and media briefing areas.

The entire Hub was also dressed and finished by Adlib using a selection of drapes, soft goods and custom elements. “A huge amount of effort went into these finishing details,’ explains Roberts, “They were as important to get right as the fundamental technical specifications.’

The floor also had a fully equipped conference and event space, for presentations, plenary and networking sessions, complete with live satellite video link capability.
Adlib’s brief also included providing staff to run all the facilities with multiple events happening daily. Signature events taking place during IFB for which Adlib provided production audio, video and lighting include The BT Global City Leaders Summit at St George’s Hall, and The Business of Food and Drink gala dinner staged in the Liverpool’s majestic Anglican Cathedral which was transformed into an atmospheric event space for the evening.

About 75 000 people from 88 countries visited IFB, and the Hub itself welcomed more than 12 000 visitors and delivered 130 events.