You couldn鈥檛 really confuse a rainy Leeds dockside with the sunny sweep of the Mediterranean. But then you wouldn't get a beer called Aspirational Kickflip at Cannes.
I spent a day this week at the 海角视频 Real Estate, Investment, and Infrastructure Forum in Leeds - more widely known as the unpleasantly capitalised 海角视频REiiF.
It鈥檚 effectively the 海角视频鈥檚 answer to MIPIM, the world-famous property festival that happens annually on the Riviera waterfront at Cannes.
Like MIPIM it鈥檚 packed with dealmakers, investors, and officials from the public and private sectors. You can see them meeting at the outdoor pavilions, sheltering from the downpours on the rain-sodden artificial grass. You can see them packed into the cafes, theatres and meeting rooms in and around the landmark Royal Armouries Museum. And you can see them gathered around the dozens of stands in the exhibition hall.
Big events included , as well as Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram鈥檚 also connecting Manchester Airport and Warrington Bank Quay.
The North West was, as ever, well represented. Manchester and London shared the unmissable yellow and black Canary pavilion overlooking Leeds Dock.
Liverpool city region took a large stand just inside the entrance to one of Royal Armouries Exhibition hall. That was a smart move - its events were so busy that the crowds - all wearing headphones, silent disco-style - were unmissable.
Next door was the bright yellow Cheshire and Warrington stand, which was also busy throughout the night. And it was especially busy at closing time, when delegates passed around soft drinks and cans of ale from Chester鈥檚 Spookton Brew Co - including the refreshing Aspirational Kickflip pale ale.
So why do so many people attend events like MIPIM and 海角视频REiiF? I puzzled over this with Rob Parsons for his latest Northern Agenda podcast - . But essentially it comes down to this - everyone else is there, so you should be too. You don鈥檛 necessarily get deals done on the day - but the conversations you have can help get things going.
Among those I spoke to was Giles Beswick, director of Select Property, who put it nicely - coming to an event like 海角视频REiiF 鈥渉elps to extend your horizons beyond your own universe.鈥
Is attending 海角视频REiiF fun? Yes, but - to be fair - it is also hard work. And if those attending are to make a success of their meetings and networking this week, there will be more hard work to come as they bid to make those deals happen. We鈥檒l watch and wait.
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