Cobbetts LLP has become one of the first official supporters to the 2009 Manchester International Festival (MIF), in a deal that sees the law firm strengthen its relationship with the groundbreaking event.
Launched in 2007 to much critical acclaim, the inaugural international festival devoted to commissioned and original work proved to be a huge success. It attracted 105 different events to Manchester, including 25 world premieres, which were presented to more than 200,000 people over 18 days.
Cobbetts acted as legal supplier to the first festival, creating a dedicated cross-practice team to deliver specialist advice on areas such as artists’ contracts, broadcast rights, and the staging and production of events. The collaboration proved so successful that Cobbetts has opted to up its support for MIF 2009 by becoming an official supporter.
Stephen Benson, senior partner at Cobbetts, commented: “Being involved in the first festival brought our business a range of tangible benefits, and our relationships with Manchester City Council and other worldwide bodies, organisations and companies associated with the festival are stronger then ever. We will be ensuring that we capitalise on these relationships by being involved to a greater extent in 2009.
“Despite difficult market conditions and the resultant downturn that professional services firms have experienced, it is important that we position ourselves for the future and remain mindful of the opportunities that partnerships such as MIF will generate once the economy begins to recover. In the current economic climate, it is also crucial for Manchester’s economy that the private and public sectors work together to support economic activity in the region.
“Supporting MIF provides us with an unrivalled platform from which to demonstrate our full media credentials to the international creative community, as well as allowing us to evolve, develop new relationships and form effective inter-firm teams through our involvement.”
Manchester International Festival hit the headlines just a few months ago, when its 2007 launch event, Monkey: Journey to the West, was selected to be the ‘face’ of the BBC’s Olympic coverage throughout the 2008 Games. The festival has received £2 million from Manchester City Council and £1 million in Arts Council funding to support new programmes of work and artistic innovation through to 2011.
Cobbetts’ status as official supporter to MIF complements the firm’s work as legal adviser to Leeds City Council on the city’s proposed 12,500-seat arena, and to Peel Holdings on the development of MediaCityUK. The £400 million development at Salford Quays, in Greater Manchester, will be the UK’s leading centre for creative and media industries and is expected to boost the North West regional economy by more than £1.5 billion.