On Thursday 22nd February, we hosted our Annual Showcase at the Principality Stadium. It was a great evening filled with networking and discussion, celebrating everything we have delivered between December 2022 and November 2023, including City of Arcades Day, Equality City, and our environmental projects.
If you couldn’t make it on the day or would appreciate a refresher of what was discussed, we have put together this event recap just for you.
The Venue
The Principality Stadium is without a doubt one of Cardiff’s most iconic landmarks, and we were thrilled to host our event in their Presidential Suite. We even had the chance to experience the stadium’s Royal Box, with a breath-taking view of the pitch.
The Speakers
Huw Llewellyn, Chair of the FOR Cardiff Board
Guests were welcomed by Huw Llewellyn who presented on our recent successes, including our Purple Flag Accreditation, demonstrating the excellence of Cardiff’s evening and night-time economy. Huw also explained that we recently secured two successful Shared Prosperity funding applications. This funding will allow us to deliver a reusable cup scheme and decorate the entrances to Cardiff’s arcades over the 2024 festive period. We are so excited about these upcoming projects, watch this space!
Carolyn Brownell, Interim Executive Director at FOR Cardiff
Carolyn presented our Annual Report video, detailing some of our standout projects and events over the past year. She then revealed the results from our recent Annual Survey. We had some really positive feedback, with 95% of respondents stating that they were satisfied with FOR Cardiff’s work over the past year. Businesses provided us with some lovely comments, such as:
For Cardiff performs an incredibly important role in enhancing the quality of visitor experience as well as for residents of the city.
Guests were also informed of the upcoming relaunch of Give DIFFerently, a donation scheme designed to support people at risk of or experiencing homelessness through small grants to purchase essential items. 100% of the donations go to 100% of the cause.
The campaign will launch on 1st March (St David’s Day) with a focus on the little things that make a big difference. The public will be able to make donations via QR code donation points dotted around the city. If you would be interested in hosting a donation point at your business please reach out to info@forcardiff.com.
Carolyn then explained FOR Cardiff’s new strategic framework, consisting of five workstreams that will allow us to put in place a programme which successfully translates our strategy into action and delivery. The workstreams are:
- Place Marketing
- Place Management
- Place Shaping
- Member Relations
- Corporate Affairs
Each workstream will have its own working group, and we are currently seeking volunteers to take part in these groups. Please reach out to a member of our team to register your interest.
Nick Bennet, Director of Economics and Savills
Our speaker, Nick Bennet, gave an insightful presentation on Cardiff’s economic standing and the exciting future developments planned for the city. Nick explained that Cardiff is a talented city, with over 57% of our workforce qualified to degree level. We are also a great city to work in, with net new jobs up over 14%.
Nick discussed the game-changing new developments in the pipeline over the next few years such as the Cardiff Metro and the new arena planned for Cardiff Bay. These developments will bring thousands of new jobs to the city while also improving our infrastructure and making us an even more attractive place to visit.
Q&A and Networking
Following Nick’s speech, we had an informative Q&A session with Claire Turner, Head of Residential Development Sales at Savills Cardiff and Jonathan Day, Head of Economic Policy at Cardiff Council. There were some fascinating discussions, with a focus on looking ahead at how we can all contribute to make Cardiff a stand-out capital city.
The rest of the evening involved lots of networking over canapes and drinks.
We would like to thank all of our speakers and everyone who attended to join us in celebrating our achievements over the last year. To find out more about what we delivered between December 2022 and November 2023, read our Annual Report, available in both English and Welsh.