To celebrate #VendorWeek, Big Issue North joined street paper colleagues in the US, Australia and mainland Europe in putting on another instalment of their annual selling event.
However, this year, there was a competitive edge to the proceedings as notable figures from across the worlds of politics, music and sport faced off against each other, accompanied by trusted Big Issue North vendors, to see who could sell the most copies.
On Monday, two political heavyweights went head-to-head. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Merseyside Mayor Steve Rotheram, were vendors for the evening at Manchester Oxford Road Station and on Liverpool’s Basnett Street, respectively. The final score saw Liverpool take home the win 19 copies to 7.
Andy is out with Colin this evening, selling the @bigissuenorth to raise awareness of vendor week and the challenges people on the street face. #VendorWeek pic.twitter.com/WEDAtH2JZE
— Mayor of Greater Manchester (@MayorofGM) February 4, 2019
Sales are rolling in for @MetroMayorSteve! Turns out the phrase ‘we need to beat Manchester’ is an effective sales pitch #vendorweek pic.twitter.com/09skgDX52s
— Big Issue North (@bigissuenorth) February 4, 2019
On Thursday, Lord Mayor Magid Magid of Sheffield took on Reverend and the Makers frontman Jon McLure. After McLure took the lead, Sheffield’s mayor stormed to a convincing 26 to 16 victory.
Great hour spent selling @bigissuenorth for Murph! I sold 26 copies in 1 hour beating @AndyBurnhamGM (7 copies), @MetroMayorSteve (19 copies) and our very own @Reverend_Makers (16 copies) 👊🏾💚 pic.twitter.com/QnmxPo1gYa
— 🚀MΛG!D (@MagicMagid) February 7, 2019
Sheffield's own " Heavy Weight Champion" John McClure from @Reverend_Makers out in the city selling the Big Issue as part of #thebigsell for #thebigissue pic.twitter.com/0008CMyMBM
— Sheffield City Centre NPT (@SheffCity_NPT) February 7, 2019
Leeds was the location of Wednesday’s celebrity selling as Yorkshire Cricket Club wicketkeeper Jonny Tattersall swapped the field for the street, donning the classic street paper vendor vest.
Ste and @JonnyTatts share a selfie to mark the end of their #BigSell experience at Leeds Station.
Ste gives Jonny a 10/10 for effort! #VendorWeek pic.twitter.com/5wIt5Rtq6Q
— Big Issue North (@bigissuenorth) February 6, 2019
Edna Robinson, chair of The Big Life group and Big Issue North Trustee Mark Fitzgibbon also took part during the week.
As always, all money from guest vendors’ magazine sales went directly into the pockets of the regular vendors who accompanied them.
It was the fifth time Big Issue North had hosted a selling event during #VendorWeek, and it was a success as always.
It’s a right tight battle between @Mancfitzlaw and @Edna_Rob, until with minutes on the clock, Edna gets a bulk order from her colleagues at @THT_Homes to take an uncatchable lead! #VendorWeek #bigsell19 pic.twitter.com/kEvv6FQjHn
— Big Issue North (@bigissuenorth) February 5, 2019
Fay Selvan, chief executive of Big Issue North, said: “This year’s Big Sell promises to really cast a light on the challenges our vendors face. It’s great to see people from all sorts of fields give their time to support vendors, and experience the reality of selling on the streets in all weathers.
“I’m proud that we’re doing the Big Sell for the fifth year running, joining other street papers around the world in raising awareness of the challenges facing the people who sell such magazines and hopefully boosting their sales. And for those people doing the Big Sell with a competitive edge, may the best salesperson win!”
This was the second #VendorWeek in a row that Mayor Andy Burnham had spent time learning about the work of street paper vendors. He told Big Issue North last year: “It brought home how hard it is for people selling Big Issue North. It’s so hard when people just walk past. But overall, more people than I thought came up and bought one – the people of Greater Manchester are generous. It also brings home how valuable Big Issue North can be as a lifeline for people in need.”
Read more coverage of #VendorWeek 2019 here.