Commissioned by Mersey Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, and curated by Culture Liverpool and Hemingway Design, the virtual festival takes place on Thursday, October 8

Act 1 of the Liverpool city region’s Good Business Festival takes place this week, bringing together big names in business and wider society to debate the big issues of the moment.

Commissioned by Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, and curated by Culture Liverpool and Hemingway Design, the festival takes place on Thursday, October 8, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting financial crisis.

The event aims to unite the growing global community of businesses and conscious consumers who believe business can deliver meaningful, positive change in society.

It will offer a hybrid programme of virtual and live content kicking off on and followed by an ongoing stream of fresh content shared at key points in the business and cultural calendars from Act 1 in October to Act 2 in March.

Click here to register for free for the festival

Broadcast-quality sessions will be streamed live from our studio, accompanied by pre-recorded segments all hosted by moderators Evan Davis and Aasmah Mir. Joining on October 8 will be a host of influential leaders and big thinkers, including economists, cultural talent, sporting legends and business representatives from some of the world’s leading companies.

They include Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, Ann Cairns, Mastercard, Gina Miller, SCM director and campaigner, Richard Curtis, screenwriter and producer, Lady Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook, Lord John Bird, The Big Issue, and Richard Walker, Iceland and Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

Act 1 will provide a case study for the agility and adaptation needed to pivot an event from physical to virtual in a short period of time and in an incredibly uncertain climate, from managing the process with speakers to the digital tools engaged with to pre-record content.

Focused on COVID-19 response and recovery, October 8 will unite leaders in the fields of finance, tech, sport, and retail and more. These sessions are driven to make real change, with a focus on commitments and tangible plans of action, rather than empty debate.

Core festival sessions will include:

• WTF Is Happening – a whistle-stop tour of key figures in business and society who’ll share their take on what is happening to all of us, the effect this year has had on their own businesses and a look at what happens next.
• Never Waste a Crisis – Has the response to Covid-19 highlighted that business leading the agenda and collective action against climate is possible?
• Profit Comes from Purpose – How can business leverage its capabilities and influence to mobilise supporters towards action and social change?
• Capitalism After COVID – Beyond the bottom line – can capitalism after COVID-19 reinvent itself?
• Real Purpose or Woke Washing – What can we learn from organisations and companies that both got it right and got it wrong?
• Take Me to Your Leader – broadcasting from Australasia and North America – with New Zealand and Canada being hailed as the poster children for how to swiftly and effectively deal with crises, this will ponder the choice between governance led by compassion and economics.
• Raising the Game – Leading names in global professional sports, top athletes, grassroots heroes, and disruptive thinkers from other sectors will reimagine the way that their sport is governed, funded, played and consumed.

One year on from the onset of the pandemic, Act 2 of The Good Business Festival will take place in March 2021. Bringing some of the smartest and most creative minds from around the world to the Liverpool city region, it will aim to challenge businesses and consumers to think bigger, galvanise ambition and continue to drive positive change as we start out on the road to collective recovery.