Downing Street reception for industry chiefs at EGN?

British Prime Minister Tony Blair may host a reception for key games industry figures during the European Games Network trade show this September, according to reports which have emerged this morning.

The Downing Street reception would be an enormous boost for the trade event, and also for the Entertainment Software Charity (ESC) which has recently become an increasingly important charity in the government's education-focused specialist schools initiative.

According to UK retail trade paper MCV, the ESC is set to part-fund the building of a school in London under the scheme, with ESC CEO Mark Strachan last week visiting Downing Street to meet with education minister Charles Clarke and representatives from the City of London who will provide financial assistance to the project.

It's believed that the plans would see the ESC donating some UKP 2 million to the founding of the school, which would be topped up to around UKP 20 million by the Government's Academies programme. The games business would then be able to select specialist subjects for the school - creating a showcase for the industry's contributions back to society.

Government recognition of the games industry in the UK has been significantly improved in recent years, with the work of the ESC being recognised at high levels in government and the industry as a whole being strongly assisted by the Department of Trade and Industry and the UK Trade and Investment body.