Julie Mackenzie is events co-ordinator for regeneration and investment agency, Liverpool Vision. She is organising the Liverpool delegation heading to MIPIM next month

7am: Mornings are all about getting the four of us out of the house with everything we need for the day – my husband, Dave, and our sons, Iain and Rob. We live in Childwall. Dave and I drive into town together. He works in the city’s regeneration department.

9am: A quick “to do” list review. I’m busy handling MIPIM, the world’s large property convention. We’ve come a long way since Liverpool’s first attendance. Back in 2001, if you could find our stand at all, you stumbled across it. These days we genuinely compete with Manchester, Birmingham and other European cities. Apart from anything else, it’s a glimpse of the future. A lot of the projects we enjoy today – including Liverpool One – were once just models on our stand.

9.30am: An internal meeting with Ailsa Horne, my colleague on sponsorship contracts for MIPIM and the World Expo in Shanghai. The whole point of Liverpool’s presence is to give the city’s property community a platform. MIPIM is a complex, challenging event – 18,000 delegates, even during the credit crunch. A single Liverpool delegate might get lost without us as a focal point.

11am: Coffee and a Danish pastry – my absolute favourite. I take five minutes out for a couple of personal emails. My son, Rob, is off to Texas soon to a tennis academy. He and his brother, Iain, are sports mad, and Rob was a ball boy at the Davis Cup match between GB and Poland at the Liverpool ACC last year. We were all very proud seeing him on the same court as Andy Murray.

11.30am: Catch-up call with the captain of Sunliner X, the Liverpool yacht charter at MIPIM. My French is not great but Benoit speaks perfect English. We co-ordinate all events for our sponsors and I’m currently organising an event Keepmoat is hosting.

Noon: Mandarin lesson ahead of the Expo in Shanghai – my other main project. It’s vast, will last six months and promises some 70m visitors. I’m working with sponsors like Peel Holdings, Arup and EA Technology on the logistics. China plays a huge role in the global economy. Lots of Liverpool businesses are already involved.

1pm: Usually I don’t have time for more than a sandwich at my desk but today I dash to Liverpool One for some retail therapy – last-minute bits for Rob’s Texas trip. I have lots of friends working in the city and enjoy meeting up for lunch occasionally, but I’m just too busy at the moment.

2.30pm: Have a chat with our apprentice, Joe Wainwright. This role is all about logistics, co-ordination, and relationship management. We review progress on some of his work. Joe’s definitely got the X-factor – he’s the lead singer in a local band, The Temps, and tells me about their gig last night.

4pm: Another MIPIM meeting. I’m reminded that even the best plans can come unstuck. My nightmares include transfers. The roads out of Cannes can seize up. We’ve had people stuck in traffic, worried about missing flights.

5pm: Email catch-up with our man in Shanghai – Oliver Hayakawa, of the Liverpool Shanghai Partnership. Update him about the school trips – two children from every high school in Liverpool will be visiting the World Expo.

6.30pm: Off to a World Expo briefing in Birkenhead with Jessica Zhang, of UKTI/China British Business Council. We are meeting Wirral companies which have a serious interest in sponsoring Liverpool’s presence.

8pm: Long day, heading for home. I do sometimes feel guilty about being away from the family, but that goes with the territory – it’s not a 9-5 job.