The events industry’s top brands have produced a record level of sponsorship for the Meetings & Incentive Travel Industry Awards.

Leading agencies including BI Worldwide, Universal WorldEvents, P&MM, drpgroup, Zibrant, AddingValue, Noble Events and MCI UK are sponsoring award categories while top supplier brands like Grimaldi Forum Monaco, EIBTM, Twickenham Experience and the Canadian Tourism Commission are supporting the awards dinner on March 5 with major cash sponsorships.

The awards dinner, staged on the eve of International Confex, will be held at the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel and will raise money for M&IT’s charity, Save The Children. This year the event raised more than £50,000 for the charity and organisers are expecting to top that in 2012.

Publisher Steve Lewis said: “We only have one category of award still available for sponsorship! With the record level of sponsorship and advance ticket sales we are expecting a record donation to Save The Children to fund a health project to prevent neonatal death in Zambezia province in Mozambique.

“In Mozambique, more than 37,000 babies each year die within the first 28 days of their life. Birth asphyxia, newborn sepsis and pre-term birth complications are the three leading causes of newborn death. We will fund the upgrading of two health clinics and provide the necessary equipment to help save newborn lives in remote rural areas, such as tools for newborn resuscitation and train 20 frontline health workers in essential newborn care.”

In total the M&IT Awards has raised more than £800,000 for Save The Children. The 2012 event will be hosted by Kate Silverton.

For further information go to www.meetpie.com/awards