Creative and digital business festival Bloom to return to Liverpool in 2025 following the success of this year’s event and will feature panel discussions, business advice and networking. Tony McDonough reports

Lynn Haime, chief executive of Baltic Creative at Bloom 2024

A one-day business festival aimed at the creative and digital sector will return to Liverpool in early 2025

Bloom took place at Camp and Furnace in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle in May this year and will return to the same venue on Thursday, March 6, 2025. It will offer panel discussions, fireside chats, business advice and networking opportunities.

Organised by Baltic Creative, Bloom offers a blend of “support, inspiration and connection” for businesses working in, and investing in, the creative and digital economy in the north of England. 

2024’s event featured expert speakers discussing key topics like scaling creative businesses, the next generation workforce, and the role of place in building creative communities. 

Liverpool John Moores University will be headline sponsor of Bloom 2025 and Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, and his West Yorkshire counterpart Tracy Brabin, will feature as part of the opening panel.

Called The Creative North, this will also see a number of high-profile leaders from across the industry sit in discussion on themes including placemaking, talent and skills, and emerging technologies.

Bloom is a response to the growing digital and creative sectors in the UK, bringing businesses from across the North together to celebrate innovation, collaboration and drive future growth. 

This one-day event serves as an open forum for creative and digital pioneers, as well as startups, to explore sector-driven regeneration and sustainable business practices.

In September Liverpool also hosted the second annual Slush’d start-up conference, also focused on the digital sector. During the event Baltic Ventures revealed the 11 tech start-up businesses joining its 2024 accelerator programme.

Creative and digital is one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK. In Liverpool, the sector is expected to grow by 10% over the next four years, while nearly 11% growth is anticipated across the wider North West, according to consultancy Avison Young.

Bloom 2025 will focus on the theme of collaboration and will have a focus on bringing together leading figures from across the north’s creative and digital ecosystems, alongside young and emerging talent.

One of the panel discussions at Bloom 2024 in Liverpool

Lynn Haime, chief executive of Baltic Creative, said: “We’re so pleased to be back with our Bloom business festival in 2025, with a brilliant line-up of speakers already confirmed and more exciting announcements to be made in the coming weeks.

“This year, we celebrated the 15th birthday of Baltic Creative and we’re very proud of the thriving community we’ve helped to establish here in the Baltic Triangle.

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“Bloom is a celebration of that and an opportunity for us to widen our reach, bringing in voices from across the North to set a vision for the future of the creative and digital sector.”

Tickets for the event are priced at £75, with early-bird and concessions discounts available. Click here for more details.