Metro Business and Civic Leaders Head to London to Pitch St. Louis on the Global Stage

ST. LOUIS – A delegation of St. Louis business and civic leaders will travel to London next week to pitch global business investment in the St. Louis metro. The trip will coincide with the Cardinals’ series against the Chicago Cubs.

“To grow the St. Louis metro, we need to be proactive, and we need to pitch ourselves on the global stage,” said Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis, Inc. “Our business and civic leadership is working together, going to global markets and speaking directly to international businesses about why they should invest in St. Louis.”

Members of the delegation will meet with Agri-TechE, a leading agtech innovation network based in Cambridge, England, where they will highlight St. Louis’s leadership in agtech and pitch the metro as a place for global investment.

“Agri-TechE’s long-standing relationship with the agtech cluster in St. Louis is strengthened even further with our fifth reciprocal partnership event together,” said Dr. Belinda Clarke, Director Agri-TechE in Cambridge. “We expect the outcomes to be new bilateral partnerships and collaborations that we are confident will build on the synergies already created as part of this important strategic alliance.”

The delegation will also meet with companies directly aligned with the priority industry sectors from the STL 2030 Jobs Plan, including geospatial technology and advanced manufacturing.

“Trade missions are an important tool in economic development. They help connect St. Louis businesses to potential customers and build important global relationships with foreign companies seeking to expand or invest in our region,” said Rodney Crim, CEO and President of St. Louis Economic Development Partnership.

The delegation is being led by Greater St. Louis, Inc., Explore St. Louis, and the World Trade Center St. Louis (the international division of SLEDP), groups that were also part of the collaborative effort to bring to St. Louis the first nonstop flight to continental Europe in over 20 years on Lufthansa. That flight recently celebrated its first anniversary.

“With international travel, meeting, and event activity returning to pre-pandemic levels and direct air service from Europe, we’re excited to showcase St. Louis’ world class tourism assets to London-based group travel buyers, meeting professionals and members of the media,” said Kitty Ratcliffe, President of Explore St. Louis.

The trip coincides with the two-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs, which will be played at London Stadium on Saturday, June 24, and Sunday, June 25. While in London, the leaders will attend an event at the United States Embassy, that will include a panel discussion featuring former Cardinals Ozzie Smith, Al Hrabosky, and Ted Simmons and moderated by Cardinals’ radio broadcaster John Rooney. The event will feature beer and barbecue from STLMade 4 Hands Brewing Co. and Sugarfire Smoke House, and Stowloch Whiskey and InverXion Vodka from Missouri’s Stone Ledge Spirits Company.

In addition to the Cardinals-Cubs series, leaders from St. Louis CITY SC will participate in a panel discussion with civic leaders from London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The discussion will focus on the power of sport to catalyze social and economic change in urban neighborhoods.