Hundreds of delegates are attending the two-day event which was the idea of the Scarborough Business Association.

Peter Wilkinson, non executive director of Cirrion, the company which has organised the conference, is also vice-chairman of the Town Team, part of Scarborough's urban renaissance initiative.

He said he expected The International Business Forum to be a very successful event and substantial interest had already been expressed by businesses wishing to attend next year's conference.

He said: "Sponsorship deals worth more than £100,000 are already being discussed and we are very optimistic that next year's event will be bigger and better.

"The fact that the town has been named as the best place in Britain to do business in has lent added impetus to this year's event and everyone is very excited by the opportunities a major conference like this can offer them."

The conference exhibition, featuring trade stands, is in the Spa Grand Hall from 10am-6pm and is open to the public and the business community.

Free business seminars on Thursday are:


Education & Training 10.30-11.30

How to be green in business 12.00-1pm

Creative Industries & Web 2.0 1.30-2.30pm

Public Sector Procurement 3-4pm


As part of the conference, and to celebrate the town winning the recent enterprise award, there will be a huge fireworks display tonight (Wednesday), from 7.50pm. The best place to see them is along the foreshore.

Extended report and more photos in Thursday's Scarborough Evening News