Going for gold: Ricky Gervais and Kate team up to sell Britain's creative talent to the world
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Your support makes all the difference.They might seem an unlikely duo but Ricky Gervais and the Duchess of Cambridge are teaming up to promote Britain's creative talent to foreign investors as they arrive in London for the Olympics.
The red carpet will be rolled out at the Royal Academy for the bash on Monday, which marks a new role for the Duchess as an ambassador for Britain's leading artists, musicians, fashion designers, writers and comedians.
Stella McCartney, Sir Terence Conran, Bob Geldof and Piers Morgan are among those who have made the cut for the event organised by the Founders Forum, the "premier community for global entrepreneurs and CEOs in media and technology".
It will allow talent such as McCartney and Gervais, who runs his own television production company, to meet venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, including a Chinese business delegation. Brent Hoberman, of the Founders Forum, said: "Britain has so many great actors, comedians and musicians but we could be doing a lot more. We want to help build more British global exports like Harry Potter."
The Duchess will be a major asset as the Government seeks to generate a £13bn economic dividend from the Games. "We're showcasing Brand Britain and Kate can have a great impact with international business figures," said Mr Hoberman , co-founder of the Last Minute deals website.
Members of the Founders Forum network include Chad Hurley, the YouTube founder, and Niklas Zennström, the co-founder of Skype.
Launched with a Downing Street reception, the Forum claims to have brought together "over 1,000 of the world's best, brightest and most dynamic digital entrepreneurs, who engage in open debate, brainstorming, discussion and problem solving".
A "Creative Content Summit" the following day, hosted by the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, will feature the screenwriters Julian Fellowes and Steven Moffat, Michael Morpurgo the War Horse creator, and Rupert Grint, star of the Harry Potter films.
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