The Business and Cultural Mission of St. Petersburg to London (United Kingdom) took place on November 14-17, 2012.
The delegation of St. Petersburg headed by Alexander Prokhorenko, member of St. Petersburg City Administration and chairman of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg, took part in the events of the programme. The business programme included a round table dedicated to redevelopment as a tool of integrated urban development.
The event was held in the Corinthia Hotel with the participation of Alexander Makarov, chairman of the Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, as well as representatives of St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering and British architectural firms. The delegation also visited several renovation sites of London, including King’s Cross, Paddington and Wembley Stadium.
The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a workshop on the joint activities aimed to increase the investment attractiveness of St. Petersburg and Kotka-Hamina region (Finland) with the participation of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg, the Foundation for SME Development, Henry Lindelöf, Mayor of Kotka City, representatives of the Embassy of the Russian Federation to the United Kingdom, the Embassy of Finland to the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom Embassy to Finland, British, Finnish and Russian companies.
The main events of the cultural programme included presentation of the photo album “St. Petersburg – London” by photographers Vladimir Balabnev and Franklin Stuart in the Corinthia Hotel and the performance by Bis-Quit ensemble and St. Petersburg soloists at Pushkin House.