Rest is Politics duo Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart to return to Leeds for UKREiiF 2024

The line-up for the event is still being arranged but it has been confirmed that The Rest is Politics podcasters Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart will be among the speakers as they participate in an invite-only discussion with a selected panel.

Other confirmed speakers for the event include Dame Linda Pollard, Chair of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

More details have also been revealed by organisers about the expansion of the event.

In a post on the organisation’s website, Nathan Spencer, Director at UKREiiF, said: “It’s sometimes difficult to remember that UKREiiF has only taken place twice. It’s become the must-attend event in the industry calendar.

"But we’re not resting on our laurels; having only run the event twice means there’s lots of learnings, lots of expansion, and lots of opportunity.

" Since May, we’ve gathered a lot of feedback from many different people, organisations, and associations, and alongside our Advisory Group and internal colleagues, we’ve been looking at how we implement further enhancements to UKREiiF.

"In 2023, more than 7,500 official attendees came through the gates, and in 2024, we expect that number to be between 10,000 and 12,000 attendees.”

The changes will see almost 20 new pavilions added to the conference grounds, with the space being taken up by the event expanded.

There will be a ‘Policy Pavilion’ which organisers say will be focused on “voices from national government”.

Mr Spencer said changes for next year will include more interactive ‘Question Time’-style panels as well as interactive workshops.

A school engagement programme is also planned.

Mr Spencer said: “In 2024, to ensure UKREiiF continues to become much more than a three-day event, we’re working to develop a programme of pre-UKREiiF activities that reaches thousands of high school and college students to promote the opportunities within the industry.

"We’ll be revealing more details in due course, but we’re excited to look at how we can start utilising UKREiiF to reach students to showcase what our industry does and inspire a future generation to be attracted to the industry.

"In addition, we’re going to be doing a number of pre-UKREiiF engagement programmes with early career professionals too, giving tips on how to network and get the most out of UKREiiF, in addition to events around how to approach UKREiiF as a first-timer and speaker training sessions for those who’d like to improve their skillset ahead of the event.”

It is expected the event will generate millions for the local economy and the 2024 conference will include pop-up stands for independent business owners to promote their products.

There is uncertainty about whether the event will return to Leeds in 2025, with organisers revealing in September that they are considering moving the conference to Manchester, Liverpool or Birmingham.

However Leeds remains in contention to host the event again beyond 2024.