Manchester - Host City

Manchester wins Internet of Things bid

Light rail Metrolink tram in the city center of Manchester

A project in Manchester designed to improve services for citizens has won the “Internet of Things Cities” competition. 

The CityVerve Project, which optimises services using the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, received the GB£10m award.

The project, led by Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership, was selected out of 22 entries involving 34 cities across the UK and with a shortlist of six finalists. 

UK Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey said the Manchester project won because of its “ambition, scale, coordination across the public and private sector, and potential for success.

“The Manchester project will help the UK to be a world leader in the adoption of Internet of Things technologies and inspire others around the world to create smarter cities.

“The Project will bring real benefits to people who live and work across Manchester, one of our Northern Powerhouse cities.”

The CityVerve Project includes plans for talkative bus stops, which let bus operators know when commuters are waiting, and a network of sensors in parks and along commuter routes to encourage people to do more physical activity.

IoT adds sensors and data analysis to equipment like streetlamps, vehicles or home heating equipment. These ‘smart’ improvements enable the delivery of more personal, efficient and flexible products and services.

“The pioneering work Manchester is doing on devolution, finding innovative ways to respond to local needs and priorities, makes us the perfect test bed for this work,” Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council said on behalf of the CityVerve consortium.

“Our plans are firmly focussed on creating the conditions for economic growth and helping connect people with the opportunities created - whether that’s helping them to monitor their own health to help avoid preventable illness or giving them improving transport information to help them move around the city more easily.”

The CityVerve project will demonstrate applications of IoT technologies and services in four key areas: healthcare; transport; energy and environment; and culture and community. It aims to provide a replicable model for other cities in the UK and beyond.

IoT is a major area of growth that is set to have a transformative effect on society. A recent report by independent consultants Arup estimates that the global value of the IoT sector will exceed £255 billion a year by 2020.

IoT is one of the four components of RAID, which comprises the disruptive technologies of Robotics, Artificial intelligence, Internet of things and big Data. 

To harness the potential of these disruptive innovations, city and business leaders are meeting at the large scale RAID Confex in Utrecht on 31st May and 1st June 2016. To find out more visit www.raidconfex.com

 

Football League partners with Soccerex

Duncan Revie, CEO of Soccerex, pictured at a press conference in Jordan in March

Soccerex and the Football League have signed a memorandum of understanding, committing to work together to make sure that football continues to develop across the League. 

The agreement gives the Sky Bet Football League a major role at the Soccerex Global Convention, which takes place from 6-10 September in Manchester. 

The Football League, the oldest competition in world football, today encompasses the three top divisions immediately below the Premiership. 

Addressing issues such as club ownership, finance and betting, the League and Soccerex will work together to make sure that senior representatives from every one of the 72 Football League clubs attend the event. The League will also have a significant presence within the exhibition and play an integral part of the conference programme. 

“Networking and knowledge sharing is an extremely valuable component for our development and Soccerex is the best football business event for this,” said Shaun Harvey, CEO of the Football League. 

“We will be working closely with them to ensure a strong turnout from our club members so they can make most of the important opportunities that Soccerex presents.”

Soccerex CEO Duncan Revie said: “Having grown up amidst the excitement and success of the Football League with my dad at Leeds United and Manchester City, I have witnessed what this institution has done for our sport. Signing this MoU signals our intent to work with the best in the business and we look forward to welcoming all of the 72 clubs to Manchester.”

The Football League join an growing roster of names lining up for the Convention that already includes FIFA President Joseph Blatter, FIFA Vice-President Jim Boyce, British Olympic Association Chairman Lord Coe, RFU CEO Ian Ritchie and England and Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton.

The Convention kicks off with the Football Festival on 6-7th September with the conference starting on Monday 8th September.

For more information please visit http://www.soccerex.com/global or email enquiry@soccerex.com

Laing O’Rourke to expand over-subscribed Etihad

The South Stand will be completed in time for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, with the North Stand following after the event (Photo: Manchester City FC)

Manchester City Football Club announced on Monday that ground engineering work on the Etihad Stadium is to begin immediately, with Laing O’Rourke as the construction partner. 

The stadium, owned by Manchester City Council, was originally designed with 41,000 seats for the 2002 Commonwealth Games by ArupSport and built by Laing Construction. After the Games, the athletics track was removed and the seating reconfigured to 48,000 capacity for its tenants, Manchester City Football Club. 

The stadium has been redesigned by sport architecture specialists Populous. The phase of expansion that begins on the South Stand this week will see capacity rise to 54,000 by the summer of 2015.

After hosting matches in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place from 18 September to 31 October 2015, the venue’s North Stand is scheduled for expansion to bring total capacity to 60,000.

“Manchester City Football Club strives to provide its supporters and visiting fans with one of the best possible matchday experiences in the Premier League and European football,” said Tom Glick, Chief Commercial Officer for Manchester City FC. “The success of this is demonstrated by games being sold out and rising demand from supporters for more season tickets, matchday tickets and premium seating.

“Expanding the stadium allows us to grow that offering as we constantly work towards excellence for every supporter that visits the Etihad Stadium.”

 

Minimal disruption

Realising these ambitious plans through a packed event schedule will be a major challenge. "Our brief from MCFC sought to minimise disruption to supporters during the construction phase of the project," said Mike Trice, project director at Populous, the architectural firm overseeing the expansion. "Early engagement with Laing O'Rourke as MCFC's construction partner has allowed us to develop our strategy to limit disturbance to the fans and the ongoing stadium operation.

"Construction of the upper tier requires new columns to run through the existing structure and concourse areas.  The precise location of these columns was balanced against the size of plant that would be required to sink the foundation piles. Laing were able to quickly evaluate the space and program requirements and the availability of plant whilst we considered the spatial and layout implications.  Through coordination with Laing we have been able to use the same columns to provide temporary support for the existing roof, this will allow it to be kept in place whist the works proceed behind the scenes."

Laing O’Rourke, like Populous, worked on a number of venues for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. Steve Coleby, Leader for Laing O’Rourke’s Construction UK business said: “Our team is known for delivering logistically complex engineering work, combining expertise from across the Laing O’Rourke Group and our specialist businesses.

“This, along with our use of the latest digital engineering technologies, will help us to deliver efficiently with minimal disruption during match days, concerts and other events hosted throughout the year.”

Manchester pushes for World Expo 2025 bid

The Expo site would be in Tameside, pictured here with Manchester city centre in the background (Photo: Ian Roberts)

Manchester in northern England is urging the new UK government, formed after the “Brexit” referendum, to put forward its bid for the 2025 World Expo.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) said it is “encouraging the government to seize the opportunity for a global shop window to demonstrate that the UK is open for business and committed to international trade following the referendum vote to leave the European Union”.

“It’s more important than ever that the UK takes it places on a world stage to compete for investment, exports and visitors,” said Tony Lloyd, interim Mayor of Greater Manchester.

“World Expo 2025 would be the perfect platform on which to do so and we believe Greater Manchester would offer an ideal option." 

Other UK cities have looked into staging the event. London conducted a feasibility study following meetings in 2014, while Liverpool was the only UK city to have a presence at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.

The UK and any other bidding countries will need to put forward their candidate city by the 31 October 2016.

In the Netherlands, Rotterdam has been working on a bid. The project has the support of Rabobank Executive Board member Jan van Nieuwenhuizen, who says, “Young people want to give meaning to their lives... The Expo should inspire this generation of the future.”

France is considering a bid for 2025 World Expo, with Paris Mayor Anne Hildago and President Hollande having given their support. However, Paris is also bidding for the 2024 Olympic Games and staging both events in consecutive years would be an unprecedented challenge.

The Japanese city of Osaka, which hosted the 1970 World Expo, is also reported to be bidding for the 2025 edition - which would come five years after Tokyo's staging of the Olympic Games.

Toronto, which hosted a successful Pan-American Games in 2015, is also evaluating an Expo bid. However, city mayor John Tory has said he will only back the bid if the government gives assurance that they will cover any shortfall in private sector funding, and local support for such a publicly funded project is just 22 per cent. In order to bid, Canada would also need to rejoin the BIE.

Proponents of the Manchester bid say it is an opportunity to rebalance the national economy by reviving the “Northern Powerhouse” regional development strategy proposed by the previous government.

The Expo would take place on a 250-acre (110 ha) industrial site at Ashton Moss in Tameside, less than 10km from Manchester city centre and within 15km of Manchester airport.

“This bid has already been seen by Treasury who recognise its value but were not at the time of the last budget in a position to back it,” said Jake Berry, MP for nearby Rossendale and Darwen.

“If our new Prime Minister Theresa May is serious about continuing with the Northern Powerhouse it’s big ideas like 2025 Expo that the Government has to give its support to.

“This is a once in a generation opportunity to rebalance our economy and promote the Northern Powerhouse as a global brand. The Government saw fit to spend £9bn on bringing the Olympics to London. This seems to be a better investment.”

The north of England is also working towards the first “Great Exhibition of the North” in 2018, with Blackpool, Bradford, Newcastle-Gateshead or Sheffield due to be named as the host this autumn. 

World Expos takes place every five years and last for six months.  The cost of staging the 2025 World Expo in the UK has been estimated to be more than £1bn, but the Greater Manchester Combined Authority points out that recent World Expos have all more than covered costs through ticketing revenues and that “private sector contributions” could be explored for 2025.

The next World Expo will be held in Dubai in 2020. Looking beyond 2025, the Korean city of Busan has already stated its intention to bid for the 2030 World Expo.