Business was well and truly back out there when more than 50 companies gathered for Expo 2021 on Wednesday at the Lakeside Park Hotel.

Hundreds of attendees met representatives of exhibiting businesses, making the most of the September sunshine and the casual, informal networking opportunities on offer.

The County Press was among the businesses attending, and editor Alan Marriott was joined by Newsquest regional managing director Vincent Boni.

Mr Boni said "It was great to be on the Island and meet the many great businesses who ply their trades here."

“Today’s Expo was our biggest ever,” said IW Chamber chief executive Steven Holbrook.

“The business community came out to support this event very strongly.

"We sold out every exhibitor stand and we had more attendees registered in advance than ever before, with many more people joining us on the day.

"Our footfall was steady across the morning and well into the afternoon and it was a thrill to see so many businesses re-engaging, chatting, catching up and doing business again.

“Feedback from our exhibitors and sponsors has been overwhelmingly positive and there’s no doubt that today was the right time to bring back Expo.

"It’s an event that the business community supports and it provides real value, offering a platform for high quality, informal networking, which in turn fosters relationships and an environment that allows businesses to build relationships with each other.

“Today’s event was a triumph and myself and my hardworking Chamber team would like to thank all of our attendees, our exhibitors, our supporting sponsors and of course our overall sponsor WightFibre.

"We couldn’t have done it without you."