News
Into the light - Lumiere returns in November .
BUSINESS BRIEFS
After the darkness , comes light . And after the ravages of the pandemic on the city and county of Durham over the past year , the 2021 Lumiere feels like a beacon leading to better times ahead .
The UK ’ s biggest light festival runs from November 18-21 this year and , just like the previous six , it will bring a phantasmagoria of light and spectacle to Durham which will draw in awed crowds and generate millions of pounds in revenue for the local economy . This sort of five-star brilliance doesn ’ t come cheap - it costs about £ 2m to stage the Lumiere and Durham Council , Arts Council England and show organisers Artichoke meet most of that cost .
Much of the remainder of the money raised , though , is generated by local and regional businesses .
Stuart South , Artichoke ’ s corporate development manager , says that revenue source is becoming more significant every time the biennial event is staged .
This year a dedicated fundraising Business Club was set up .
“ Raising money has been challenging in the circumstances ,” he told Wear Business .
“ But we ' ve been delighted by the support
LUMIERE RETURNS
Tripping the light fantastic as show is back
we ’ ve had from the region ' s business community and what we have to bear in mind is that had Lumiere been scheduled for last year , the pandemic would have forced its cancellation altogether ."
The first Lumiere light festival took place in Durham in 2009 and was originally intended as a one-off but was so successful it has been brought back to the North- East every other year since with more than a million people having now seen the spectacular installations .
The festival mixes family-friendly interactive installations with groundbreaking artistic commissions such as Pablo Valbuena ’ s Methods and Adam Frelin ’ s White Line , 3-D video-mapping , stand-alone light sculptures , neons , a kinetic fire installation , and flash mobs .
Is your business eligible for Pitchfest ?
The chance for innovative Wear businesses to perfect their pitch ahead of seeking investment is being offered by Innovate UK EDGE .
The company is looking for high-growth potential small to medium-sized businesses interested in internationalisation and seeking to raise c .£ 500k of investment ( over
the next 24 months ) to improve their pitch to investors .
Applications for the two-day training course need to be in by September 13 with only 15 places reserved for the North of England .
For more information email pitchfest @ innovateukedge . ukri . org .
WOODLAND PARTNERSHIP North-East housing company Thirteen has partnered with Forest Carbon to support the creation of a new woodland in County Durham .
As part of its commitment to creating a greener future and reducing its carbon footprint , Thirteen has become involved in the planting of 23,625 trees over 10 hectares , at Jon ’ s Wood in Crook .
Those trees are set to capture over 7,200 tonnes of CO2 over their lifetime , as well as providing significant biodiversity benefits .
ENERGY CONFERENCE A specialist energy efficiency team , from Durham County Council along with others from across Europe , met online to share ideas of best practice to support SMEs . Representatives from the UK , the Republic of Ireland , Germany , Finland , Slovenia , Spain and Italy , who have been exploring low carbon options for small businesses , joined together online for Interreg Europe ’ s SME Power virtual study visit event .
Durham County Council is participating in SME Power to share good practice with partners with similar schemes .
NEW CHIEF EXEC A new chief executive looks set to lead the North-East ’ s largest council .
The Chief Officer Appointments Committee at Durham County Council has advised that John Hewitt is their recommended candidate for chief executive following an appointment process .
John has been interim chief executive since December . He joined the authority in 2016 and has overseen the council ’ s financial response to the coronavirus pandemic as well as a wide range of other major projects and initiatives .
FINBARR SUPPORT Durham-based restaurant , Finbarr ’ s , is the latest business to make a significant financial donation to Open North Foundation , which provides grant aid and in-kind support to small firms in the North-East looking to recover from Covid-19 .
Finbarr ’ s is the second firm from the hospitality sector to provide support , joining fellow Durham-based business , Ramside Estates .
wear . business – the voice of business for the Wear region | 11