by Julia Chanteray

Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce

 

Our city’s economy is built on making money out of the business of pleasure.

Millions of visitors come here every year and we sell them all kinds of pleasure; culture during the Fringe, food and drink on the beach, tons of coffee and cake in our independent coffee shops, and gallons of beer in our pubs. People shop in Brighton because they enjoy the experience of shopping here, and because you can find the unexpected in our quirky shops.

Many of us “incomers” are here because we enjoy living here. Brighton exports entertainment and pleasure, and many of our businesses make good money from this. We are a city of creatives, with our novelists like Peter James and Jess Richards, clever people building apps and games, and it often feels that almost everything could be designed by Brighton’s businesses, with top of the range companies such as Plunge Productions, Gresham Blake, Conrad + Partners and Frances Tobin.

To celebrate all of this, Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce is running a conference about the business of pleasure on April 19, our first centenary summit. We’ll be looking at the history of business in Brighton, and our ongoing relationship with the business of pleasure.

There are serious business issues to discuss, so we’ll be looking at the downside of the pleasure and entertainment industries, and whether we’re all too busy having fun to work hard and establish a serious entrepreneurial culture. As the conference is also celebrating the first 100 years of Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce, we’ll also be looking forward to the next 100 years of business in Brighton with a futurist session with Nick Price.

And there will be some pleasurable moments, with preview performances of the Brighton Fringe, so you can decide what to go to the following month, a chocolate making/tasting session from She Bakes (a serious business of selling pleasure) and panels on pleasure, media and arts and culture. Over 100 tickets have now been sold and this is going to be the biggest business event of the year. The centenary summit is also in memory of one of Brighton’s best loved entrepreneurs, Derek Hunnisett, the chairman of Hannington’s department store, a man who brought much pleasure to the city.

You can book your ticket for the centenary summit online at www.brightonsummit.com.