{"id":59942,"date":"2021-08-25T12:54:07","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T11:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/downtowninbusiness.com\/?p=59942"},"modified":"2021-08-25T15:52:22","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T14:52:22","slug":"welcome-back-weve-never-been-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downtowninbusiness.com\/news\/dib-news\/2021\/08\/25\/welcome-back-weve-never-been-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome back? We’ve never been away"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
We have noticed a lot of organisations in the business networking space celebrating the fact that they have started to host \u2018in-person\u2019 events again during the Summer \u2013 after a fourteen- month absence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is great to see a slow but sure return to \u2018normality\u2019 \u2013 but as Downtown members know, the \u2018business club with attitude\u2019 has hosted literally dozens of \u2018live\u2019 events throughout the Pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each time there was an easing of restrictions and new guidelines announced, DIB would study them carefully, and then work out ways in which we could, safely, securely, and within the rules, get people back into the room face-to-face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because, for all the raving about virtual events, the absolute fact is that people would much rather be in the room than on a Zoom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, not only did Downtown in Business host a whole range of exclusive invitation only lunches with personalities such as the Leader of Manchester City Council Sir Richard Leese<\/a>, the Chief Executives of Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool City Councils\u2019 Joanne Roney, Tom Riordan, and Tony Reeves<\/a>, the Shadow Labour Minister Jess Phillips MP<\/a>, football pundit and entrepreneur Gary Neville<\/a>, London Deputy Mayor Jules Pipe<\/a>, and the political giant Lord Michael Heseltine<\/a>, but we also hosted TWO \u2018live\u2019 awards events \u2013 The \u2018Livercool\u2019 awards back in December<\/a>, the only in-person awards event to happen in the UK in 2020 following the first lockdown in March last year, and the City of Birmingham Business Awards<\/a> at the Grand Hotel a couple of months ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In all we actually hosted an incredible 40 plus \u2018in-person\u2019 events whilst many others were still screaming at their laptops \u2018You\u2019re on Mute\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, we also took advantage of the new communication platforms that we have all become used to over the past eighteen months. Again, we were the first to launch a series of on-line events through the \u2018Downtown Den\u2019 which we established in April 2020. Over 150 DIB Zoom events have taken place since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, given our impressive track record during the most challenging of times, can you imagine how outstanding our events offer is going to be this Autumn and beyond, as we see (fingers crossed) further relaxation of the restrictions that have been in place for far too long?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among a list of amazing upcoming Downtown events is the National Planning, Property, and Regeneration conference<\/a> at the Belfry, the City of Manchester Business Awards<\/a>, the Downtown Parliamentary Reception<\/a> in Westminster, and the https:\/\/downtowninbusiness.com\/city-of-liverpool-business-awards-2021\/<\/a>City of Liverpool Business Awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n