It is the region’s third prospectus of its kind, but the first to be spearheaded by Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street, who was elected in 2017. The first two were launched by the Department for International Trade as part of the Midlands Engine initiative. In the introduction, Street characterises the region as on the up, but with the best yet to come. He says a “drum-beat of momentum” is building ahead of the Coventry City of Culture in 2021, the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022 and the arrival of two high-speed rail stations – at Curzon Street in Birmingham’s city centre and Interchange near Birmingham Airport in 2026.