The city of Birmingham is set to benefit by as much as £20 million through next month's Conservative Party conference, its organisers have claimed.
According to a media briefing held by Marketing Birmingham, the West Midlands Police and the International Conferencing Centre (ICC), the four-day conference will not only benefit hotels, but trade in shops and restaurants is also likely to soar.
It was also revealed that as many as 20,000 people will head to England's second city from September 28th, including lobbyists, journalists and the politicians themselves.
Marketing Birmingham commercial director Ian Taylor, told the Birmingham Post that the venue is well-prepared for the flood of visitors and is sure to make a good impression on the world stage.
"With up to 800 of the world's press attending, this is a really good opportunity to get the right image of Birmingham across to the international media," he said.
"The event is pretty much broadcast live across all the major channels in the UK and we're working hard at ensuring that they have some impressive backdrops to their programming."
However, a bill for the policing of the event, which is expected to rise to £2.5 million, is still the subject of some contention, though it looks likely the West Midlands Police will receive a grant to cover extra costs. 
