North West Business, International

Manchester has become the European City of Science, a title it will hold for two years as it builds up towards hosting Europe's largest general scientific conference the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) in summer 2016.

ESOF is a biennial convention dedicated to scientific research and innovation and has just completed its 2014 programme in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The 2016 event is set to bring 4,500 delegates to Manchester and generate £8.3m for the economy.

Manchester Lord Mayor Susan Cooley said: "We’re thrilled that Manchester is now recognised as the European City of Science and will be pulling out all stops to build on the incredible effort that has made ESOF 2014 such a huge success in Denmark.

"Manchester has a long and proud association with scientific achievement from the work of John Dalton on atomic theory to the first programmable computer and the recent discovery of the advanced material, Graphene.

"And with Manchester presently making significant progress across numerous exciting areas of discovery including artificial intelligence, smart textiles, and acoustics technology, there has never been a better time for the city to be recognised in this way."

ESOF will be held in July 2016 with Manchester Central to be the main hub for the convention.

If you want to find out more about the progress of Manchester's wonder material graphene, James Baker of the National Graphene Institute will be speaking at Made in the UK on 22 July.