TONIGHT at the Shire Hall the finale of the Hereford BID Business Awards 2017 will take place.

The inaugural awards were launched at the end of June to celebrate all of the businesses which make Hereford a great place to shop and visit.

Since then, the Hereford Times has focused on members of the Business Improvement District (BID) to show what a difference they make to the city.

We have also highlighted the good work which the team at Hereford BID carry out to shine a spotlight on the city.

They work hard to improve the city through a variety of ways including hiring a maintenance team, producing new signage and introducing a data-sharing app.

There are three finalists in nine categories and the winners will be announced at the awards ceremony this evening.

A Special Recognition award will also be handed out, which has been chosen by the judges.

To remind our readers, here are the finalists of tonight's awards.

For the Hotel, Restaurant, Pub or Café of the Year award the finalists are: The Beefy Boys; Burger Shop Hereford and The Bookshop; and The Kup-cake Kitchen Cafe.

Hereford Cathedral, Hereford River Carnival and Rural Concierge are the final three in the Outstanding Contribution to the City category.

Employer of the Year includes BBR Optometry Ltd, School Uniform Shop and Specsavers Hereford.

The shortlisted entries for Independent Business of the Year are: BBR Optometry Ltd in St Owen Street, Fodder in Church Street and The Kup-cake Kitchen Cafe in Union Street.

The Customer Service Award finalists are: The Courtyard; Elle Martin Hair Salon and Specsavers Hereford.

The finalists for the Best Presented Award are: The Kup-cake Kitchen Cafe; Pritchards Menswear and Tanners Wines Ltd.

The Employee of the Year finalists are: Amanda Holden from Escape Hair Salon; Martin Lewis from Gordon Bennetts; and Lucy Shepherd-Davies from Specsavers Hereford.

The shortlist for National Retailer of the Year includes: Waitrose; Wilko Retail Ltd; and Specsavers Hereford.

And the finalists for Putting Hereford on the Map award are: The Creative Ageing Team at The Courtyard; Hereford Indie Food and Rural Concierge.

Next week there will be a supplement in the Hereford Times highlighting the winners of each category.