Bill Gates could headline Europe's biggest technology festival in the heart of the West Midlands

The mayor pledged to host a multi-million-pound tech fair in the region next year if he is re-elected on May 2.

Mr Street said sites across the Black Country could host events at the proposed Future Fest, which he hoped would be the biggest event of its kind in Europe.

Mr Street said the West Midlands had the fastest-growing technology sector in the UK, and cited it as one of the biggest potential drivers of future growth in the region.

He said the West Midlands had been the birthplace of the first Industrial Revolution, and it was crucial that it put itself at the forefront of the technological revolution which was now taking place.

Mr Street said a similar event in Austin, Texas, had turned the city into America's technology capital.

The most recent SXSW festival in Austin had attracted 300,000 visitors, he said, hosting 450 events over a nine-day period, and pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy.

"It's made Austin, Texas, into the lead tech city in the US," he said.

"It brings together lots and lots of visitors, people in the tech sector, people affected by technology, it might be engineering, it might be professional services, and of course there are the links to the creative sector as well, film, TV, music, they all come together for a series of events, it's like a massive conference and shows the power of tech to change the economy.

"What it's done for them is put them at the centre of the industry, and there's a gap in the European market to do this, we believe we can do it."

Mr Street said the technology sector contributed £15.3 billion a year to the West Midland economy at the moment. This was still well behind London, but was growing at a much faster rate to close the gap.

He cited Wolverhampton University and the recently refurbished Civic Hall as potential sites for events, as well as hi-tech factories such as Jaguar Land Rover and smaller technology start-ups in the area.

When asked who the keynote speakers might be, Mr Street said his dream would be to attract Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

"I would like to see Bill Gates, you would, wouldn't you? The underlying point is about us being ambitious," he said.

"We already have the fastest-growing tech sector in the UK, worth £15 billion, we had the good news yesterday about a 22 per cent increase in new tech registrations, we're seeing how tech is affecting all of these companies, and we know we can put on brilliant conferences here, that's what the West Midlands is famous for, we know we can put on brilliant events like the Commonwealth Games, it's all about ambition.

"We don't want it to be about people like me, local politicians, we want to aim high, an international event to put as at the centre of the global economy."

Mr Street said a business case for the event had been put together, and it was expected to turn a profit, although it might need a subsidy during the initial year.