More than 100,000 businessmen and women from 140 different countries are descending on the West Midlands for an industry exhibition.
The International Textile Machine Association (ITMA) trade show begins at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) on Wednesday.
The gathering is believed to be the largest single-industry conference in the world.
The organisers said it has taken 22 days to set up the machines, many of which are as big as houses.
The exhibition was last held in Paris and was estimated to have injected £300m into the French economy.
The NEC said it hoped the event would put it on the world stage as a host of trade shows.
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