Bristol

Your event, made in Bristol

Bristol is England’s largest city in the South West.

Since the 19th Century this thriving metropolis has developed strong roots in engineering and today is brimming with creativity, making it a leading business events destination.

Bristol is a UNESCO City of Film and has a high population of creatives, artists and filmmakers.

Awarded the European Green Capital Award in 2015, Bristol continues to have a strong focus on sustainable practices.

From historic ships to planetariums, there’s much to discover across Bristol in some of the UK’s most unique venues

Getting here

With a major international airport on its doorstep, Bristol is an easy-to-reach city.

BY PLANE

Eleven scheduled airlines serve 107 direct destinations, while multiple daily flights to the major hubs of Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels and Dublin make hundreds of onward connections accessible. Bristol Airport is a quick 25-minute drive from the city centre.

BY TRAIN

Bristol is easily accessible by rail with regular trains from London, Cardiff and Birmingham. Bristol has two mainline railway stations, Bristol Temple Meads (city-centre) and Bristol Parkway (north Bristol).

BY CAR

The city is ideally located for road access from London, Birmingham and the rest of the UK, with the M4, M5 and M32 motorways all in easy access to Bristol.

Expertise

	Film and creative Bristol is a city known for its vibrant creative culture and has seen its reputation grow to become an important and influential international creative hub. Bristol Film Office welcomes a growing number of film and TV companies to the city, which make use of the cutting-edge facilities found at Bottle Yard Studios, as well as the city’s diverse filming locations. Recent high-profile British TV productions have included Wolf Hall, Poldark and Sherlock. More than 20,400 people are employed directly in the region’s creative and media sectors and there is a huge diversity of talent from animation and film to post-production. Bristol is also home to multi-award-winning Aardman Animations, creators of Morph, Shaun the Sheep and Wallace and Gromit. Artist Banksy plus Upfest - Europe’s largest street art and graffiti festival - have also ensured that Bristol is increasingly recognised internationally for its street art.

	Aerospace and engineering Bristol has one of the largest clusters of aerospace firms in Europe. Of the 15 world-leading aerospace companies, 14 have bases in the Bristol and Bath area. The origins of the British aerospace industry are firmly rooted in Bristol when in 1910, George White, Chairman of the Bristol Tramways Company, saw Wilbur Wright flying in Paris. He founded the Bristol Aeroplane Company which became one of the first and most important British aviation companies, producing, amongst others, the Bristol Boxkite and the Blenheim as well as much of the preliminary work, which led to Concorde. This expertise now extends to further outstanding centres of excellence including Bristol Robotics Laboratory, Bristol & Bath Science Park and the National Composites Centre - leading in collaborative aeronautical research. Bristol’s engineering heritage is also evident in the legacy of Brunel, particularly in the Clifton Suspension Bridge and the restored SS Great Britain - the Concorde of its day.

	Professional services A thriving network of lawyers, accountants, architects, management consultants and financial advisers can be found in the Bristol area. In fact, a third of FTSE 100 companies have a base in Bristol and Bath. Bristol is home to Triodos Bank, an ethical organisation with a clear and transparent investment programme. It offers sustainable banking and considers the environmental, cultural and social impact on all businesses. Bristol also has its own currency, the Bristol Pound. It is the UK's first city-wide local currency and the first to have electronic accounts managed by a regulated financial institution. Bristol Pounds ensures that money is kept within the local economy and has a comprehensive supplier network.