Asian business community celebrates Diwali
Asian Business Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) held an event to celebrate Diwali - the Festival of Lights.
The event was held at the Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre with the participation of 150 members and guests.
Diwali celebrates the victory of good over evil and light over darkness and is a time of year when families, friends and communities come together in a spirit of celebration and joy. It is an important celebration among Hindus, Sikhs and Jains.
The celebration was sponsored by the University of Birmingham and the Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre.
At the event, attendees were welcomed by co-presidents of ABCC, Amina Hussain and Omar Rashid.
Speeches were given by Simon Evans, head of corporate affairs and marketing at Birmingham Airport and Richard Metcalfe from the Edgbaston Park Hotel.
Simon, in his speech, shared Birmingham Airport 's potential to be a transport hub of the future with the development of the HS2 project.
He said: “Our current runway is 30 per cent utilised and we serve around 12 million passengers each year.
“We have plans to triple this number after modernising the terminals, upgrading airport stands to fit bigger airplanes, and introducing a new security fleet to speed up checks. HS2 is a game changer in connectivity which opens up our airport to millions of people.
“We are planning to have 18 million passengers by 2033 with a capability to hit 35 million in the future. ”
Richard Metcalfe emphasised on how Edgbaston Park Hotel is aiding the University of Birmingham in its research.
He said: “Why I love this business and this team is we give all the profit back to the university. That makes them able to support genuine things like cancer research and support to underprivileged communities. ”
The event was hosted by ABCC executive committee member Sapreena Kumari.
Pictured from left to right: Director of ABCC Anjum Khan, chief commercial officer of Edgbaston Park Hotel Richard Metcalfe, ABCC executive chair Sapreena Kumari, ABCC co president Omar Rashid, CEO of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce Henrietta Brealy, head of corporate affairs and marketing of Birmingham airport Simon Evans and ABCC co president Amina Hussain
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