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News in full

 

Ambassadors honoured at Gala Dinner

Over 250 guests gathered at the magnificent National Museum in Cardiff on 5 November to honour the People’s Ambassador of the Year and the Cardiff Ambassador of the Year 2009.  The event was also a celebration of the Cardiff Ambassadors’ Programme - conceived by Cardiff & Co to spread the word that Cardiff is an excellent place to live, visit, invest, study and play.

Hosting what proved a hugely successful event was John Inverdale with Lord-Digby Jones as the after-dinner speaker.

The Chief Executive of the Admiral Group, Henry Engelhardt received the award for the Cardiff Ambassador of the Year in recognition of his efforts to promote the city over the past twelve months.  Henry Engelhardt was praised by Lord Digby Jones for the significant contribution that his company has made to both the local and UK economy.  The Admiral Group employs 4,000 people and has a market capitalisation of over £2 billion.  The company has grown year on year since their inception at their Cardiff headquarters in 1993.

The late Hilary David, a local businessman, who dedicated 15 years of his life to see a fitting statue erected to celebrate the life of Ivor Novello was recognised with a posthumous award – presented to his wife, Beth David by the Leader of Cardiff Council, Councillor Rodney Berman.   The twelve foot bronze statue of Ivor Novello which now sits proudly alongside the Wales Millennium Centre leaves a lasting legacy for the people of Cardiff and visitors to the city to enjoy.  Accepting the award, Beth David said, “I know that Hilary would have been humbled but quietly pleased to have been recognised in such a way by the people of Cardiff – a city that meant so much to him.” 

The Cardiff Ambassador Gala Dinner evening was also used as a platform to celebrate and recognise Wales’ sporting ambassadors and to raise funds to support their efforts. At the end of the night, John Inverdale, the evening’s MC congratulated the audience for raising almost £3,500 for the 2010 Wales Commonwealth Games Team.

Commenting on the event, Professor Tony Chapman, Vice Chancellor of UWIC, said “We were delighted to support the first Cardiff Ambassadors Gala Dinner and congratulate all of those who won awards on the evening. Held in a magnificent venue the event succeeded in raising the profile of the Ambassadors programme and of Cardiff as a city of learning”.

Cardiff & Co would like thank UWIC, the Gala Dinner’s title sponsor and the event’s other sponsors, the National Museum, Push4, Quadrant and the Park Plaza.

Further pictures of the Gala Dinner are available here.

City gets seal approval from Swiss Ambassador

The Swiss Ambassador will arrive in Cardiff later this month as part of a delegation from Switzerland holding their annual general meetings in the capital.

To mark their arrival in the city on 19 June, the Ambassador for Switzerland in the UK, Alexis P Lautenberg will attend a concert at St David’s Hall by BBC’s National Orchestra of Wales and the BBC Chorus under the Swiss principal conductor, Geneva-born Thierry Fischer.

Co-ordinating events and looking forward to showcasing Cardiff to her Swiss compatriots from across the UK and from Switzerland, is the Honorary Consul of Switzerland in Wales, Ruth Thomas-Lehmann. One of growing number of opinion formers and decision makers that have signed up to Cardiff & Co’s Ambassador Programme, she has been instrumental in attracting these prestigious events to city and is an excellent ambassador Cardiff.

The Swiss Societies Conference will commence on Saturday, June 20 at the Mansion House, the official residence of Cardiff’s Lord Mayor. Items on the agenda will include the election of delegates to represent the Swiss in the UK and on the Council of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, and for committee members of the Federation of Swiss Societies in the UK.

The meeting will be followed by a tour of the city’s landmarks and an evening of entertainment at St Peter’s Church in Roath featuring the Swiss choir, Vos da Locarno. The choir hail from the Swiss Ambassador’s home town of Ticino and guests at the concert will include Cardiff’s newly elected Lord Mayor, Councillor Brian Griffiths. Adding to the occasion will be a performance from the Welsh choir - Côr Godre’r Garth.

Events in the capital will culminate with a visit to the Senedd on Sunday, 21 June and the Swiss Ambassador’s annual general meeting of Consular representatives of Switzerland in the UK. Attending will be the Consul General from London and Edinburgh, the Honorary Consul of Wales, Manchester, Belfast, Jersey and Gibraltar together with the Head of Culture and Diplomacy and Head of Economics at the Embassy.

 

 

Film Unveiled to Promote Cardiff to the World

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A film complied by Cardiff & Co has been unveiled at the launch of the Cardiff Ambassadors Programme and will be used to take the Cardiff message to the world – a pulsating and beautiful city with world class facilities for business, academia, culture and sport.
Commenting on the importance of the film, ‘Cardiff: The Capital Opportunity’, Richard Thomas Cardiff & Co’s Managing Director said, “Investment in the city’s infrastructure has made Cardiff extremely marketable on several fronts, but for us to remain competitive we need to project the city’s ‘offer’ to as many potential investors as possible. During the short film, some of our Ambassadors such as Henry Engelhardt of the Admiral Group, Professor Ken Woodhouse, Cardiff University's Pro Vice-Chancellor for Engagement and Judith Isherwood of the Wales Millennium Centre talk of their positive experiences since coming to Cardiff. These messages from key figures in the capital city will hopefully persuade potential investors to take a closer look at the Cardiff proposition.”
Cardiff Ambassador, and Welsh rugby and Lions legend Ieuan Evans appears in the film and is full of praise for the continually evolving Welsh capital and in particular its sporting facilities. Ieuan Evans said, “What impresses me is Cardiff’s commitment to sport – we have the wonderful Millennium Stadium, the SWALEC stadium, and nearing completion a new arena for Cardiff City and Cardiff Blues.”

One of Cardiff’s first Ambassadors, Richard Moremon, Director of Marketing and Communications at University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC) said, “This short film of life in the capital city – studying, working and playing - really captures the spirit of the city. We know from our own experience that people coming to Cardiff for the first time are impressed by what they see, already UWIC has students from over 125 countries studying on our degree programmes (so much so that the city’s student retention rates are amongst the best in the UK). That said, we don’t want to be the UK’s best kept secret – a hidden gem waiting to be discovered – we want to take pride of place in the shop window. The DVD, Cardiff the Capital Opportunity, is an excellent vehicle for taking the Cardiff story to the world with a clear message that if you like what you see, why not be part of it.”
Another of the city’s Ambassadors, Peter Crofts, and Director of Marketing & Student Recruitment at the University of Glamorgan said, “Cardiff acts as a gateway opening up the whole South Wales area to new opportunities and, as such, it is essential that the city-region is professionally presented to the world. Applications to Glamorgan are three times the national average - up 18% this year and we have just seen our largest ever intake of international students. So Cardiff, and thereby the surrounding area, is really gaining a national and international profile. What this video will do is help us to ensure we build on this and keep growing”
Professor Ken Woodhouse, Cardiff University's Pro Vice-Chancellor for Engagement said: "The higher education sector is hugely influential in driving academic, economic and cultural distinction for Cardiff. I am very excited about working with our fellow ambassadors to get the message out there that Cardiff is the place to visit and invest in."
 

 

Cardiff Ambassadors to promote capital opportunities

An exciting programme will be launched today (Wednesday) at the SWALEC Stadium that will see Ambassadors for the capital city take the Cardiff story to the world as part of a drive to position the city as the number one choice for investors and conference organisers.
High profile speakers from the world of business, academia, sport and entertainment will explain why they are proud to be Ambassadors for Wales’ capital city.
The Cardiff Ambassadors Programme has been developed by Cardiff & Co – the public/private partnership tasked with promoting the capital city - in partnership with the city-region’s three universities – Cardiff University, UWIC and the University of Glamorgan.

Today’s event will be chaired by Noreen Bray, one of Cardiff & Co’s board members. Joining Noreen at the launch will be Admiral Group C.E.O., Henry Engelhardt, the Leader of Cardiff Council, Rodney Berman, the Nobel Prize winner, Professor Sir Martin Evans, Professor Ken Woodhouse, Pro Vice Chancellor at Cardiff University, and Lions rugby legend, Ieuan Evans and members of a great Welsh success story, Only Men Aloud.
Commenting, Noreen Bray who also chairs PR company Good Relations said, “Cardiff is a young capital city with lots to be proud of. For instance, the city-region is an academic centre of excellence with over 60,000 under-graduate students, 12,000 post graduate students, and 6,000 overseas students from over 100 countries across the world. This makes the region an attractive proposition for investment and supports thriving sectors such as the Creative Industries, Bioscience, ICT, Leisure and Tourism and Financial and Business Services.
The city has changed beyond recognition over the past decade. We have one of the most exciting waterfront developments in Europe thanks to the £2.4 billion regeneration of Cardiff Bay with the iconic Wales Millennium Centre and the Sir Richard Rogers designed Senedd – the seat of Welsh Government. Capital investments in our hotels have exceeded £50 million and the city will soon have one of the best retail facilities in Europe at the £650 million St David’s 2 Shopping Centre.”
 
She added, “Cardiff now has a platform to compete with the very best and our Ambassadors can help position us as the destination of choice for business investors, conferences and events. Cardiff’s Ambassadors may stem from very different backgrounds, from Only Men Aloud to Henry Engelhardt but they all share a common aim - a passion for the city and the desire to see it thrive. They will seek to use their influence and connections to promote the city region.”
 
Commenting further Noreen Bray said, “One of Cardiff’s success stories is the Admiral Group. Henry Engelhardt, the company’s Chief Executive hails from Chicago but came to Cardiff in 1991 to set up the company. He enjoys life in the Welsh capital – a sentiment echoed by his staff - the organisation consistently ranking in the top 50 companies in the UK to work for. Commenting on the special relationship between Cardiff and Admiral, Henry Engelhardt said,” ‘We are a FTSE 100 company – we could have gone anywhere in the UK but chose to come to Cardiff in 1991 and our business has grown every year since our inception.’
Noreen Bray added, “Another great Ambassador for the city is Judith Isherwood who presides over Wales’ most visited attraction, the Wales Millennium Centre (WMC). Celebrating its fifth birthday this year, the WMC has sold 1.36 million theatre tickets and attracted over 5.5 million visitors through its doors. Commenting on cultural life in the capital, the former Director of performing Arts at the Sydney Opera House said,” ‘There is so much on offer from a cultural point of view in Cardiff, almost to the point of it being unique for a city of its size.’
Closing Noreen Bray said, “People coming to Cardiff for the first time, for business or play, are impressed by what they find. Our beautiful city is now extremely marketable on several fronts. The challenge we now face is getting that message out to potential investors – excellent infrastructure, a highly skilled pool of labour, competitive rates and a great city to boot.”