Organisers of the annual Marie Curie Cancer Care Brain Game are hoping to raise the fundraising bar with all proceeds from this year’s event going to its local hospice capital appeal project.

The charity plans to use the quiz to kick-start the appeal to build a new £20million Marie Curie hospice for the people of the West Midlands.

The Birmingham Brain Game is now the biggest of its kind in the UK. It has grown over eight years to become a key date in the city’s corporate calendar.

Last year’s Brain Game raised a record £130,000, with more than 600 people attending. A team of barristers from No.5 Chambers were the winners.

Craig Errington, chief executive of Wesleyan Assurance Society, main sponsor of the Birmingham Brain Game, said: “We have set ourselves an ambitious goal in what is going to be a tough year for business. However, we are confident that the business community will rise to the occasion in support of this fantastic cause.”

Income raised from this year’s Birmingham Brain Game will go towards the charity’s project to replace its existing hospice for the people of Birmingham and Solihull. The Solihull-based hospice supports about 1,000 people with cancer and other illnesses every year. The care the charity provides is excellent but the building’s size and age is restricting its ability to develop services and reach more people.

The 2009 Brain Game is on Wednesday, October 7, at Birmingham’s ICC. Local celebrities will each read one of the eight rounds of the quiz, hosted by Julia Bradbury, of BBC’s Watchdog. For details, or to book a table, contact Susan White at Marie Curie Cancer Care by e-mail at susan.white@mariecurie.org.uk or by telephone on 07798 638114.