MC Joins SunFest 2026

Marriott Communications were pleased to join Sunderland’s business community at SunFest 2026 to celebrate the city’s ambition, explore opportunities for collaboration and reaffirm our commitment to building a globally ambitious firm from the North East.

For us, being part of conversations like these goes beyond networking. As a strategic communications and advisory firm founded in Sunderland, we have a direct interest in the future of this city - not as a place to do business, but as a place where ambitious organisations can grow, innovation can flourish and talent can realise its potential.

We believe Sunderland has the foundations to become a city of the future. Its talent, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit offer significant opportunities, but realising them requires more than ambition alone. It demands collaboration, investment and a collective willingness to think beyond what has traditionally been expected of the region. That is a future we want to help build.

From the outset, our ambition has been to build Marriott Communications into a firm capable of delivering work with national and international impact, while remaining rooted in the North East.

We believe geography should never determine the scale of an organisation’s ambitions. Globally competitive businesses can be built here, drawing on the talent and creativity of our region while developing relationships and opportunities across international markets.

Sunderland’s next chapter will depend on how effectively businesses, investors, institutions and individuals work together to turn potential into progress. That means creating opportunities for emerging talent, backing ambitious entrepreneurs, encouraging innovation and building a business community that is connected, confident and outward-looking.

We want to see Sunderland become a city where businesses choose to start, scale and stay - and from which they can compete on a national and global stage.

Attending SunFest 2026 was an opportunity to engage with that ambition and be part of the wider conversation about what comes next.

We are proud to be building Marriott Communications here, but our ambition extends beyond the success of our own firm. We want to contribute to an environment in which more Sunderland-based organisations can thrive, more talent can fulfil its potential and the city can realise the opportunities ahead.