The event security contractor Showsec has been appointed as the Official Crowd Management Supplier for the Louis Vuitton Americas Cup World Series when it returns to Portsmouth later this month.
One of the biggest sporting occasions of the summer will see the crowd management and event security firm play a key role in ensuring that the four-day event, which will attract thousands of sailing enthusiasts to the waterfront city, lives up to expectations. The Americas Cup is not only the oldest trophy in international sport, stretching back more than 150 years to its origin in New York, it is also considered to be the most difficult to win due to the length of each competition and the extreme challenge of the conditions.
Ian Featherstone, Operations Executive in Showsec’s South Coast office said: “The Americas Cup is an iconic sporting occasion which commands huge global interest, so to be associated with an event of this magnitude is highly prestigious for the company. As well as being an exciting new stage on which to expand upon the range of work we currently undertake across many different sports, it also gives us another opportunity to showcase how our operations contribute to the delivery of events on this scale. Within the past few days, we have been involved in the staging of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, now we have the Americas Cup to look forward to.
“The profile of working on an occasion of this calibre could potentially open up new opportunities and there is the possibility of the Americas Cup Finals returning here in the future if Sir Ben Ainslie’s team manages to win the trophy next year. It is certainly another significant development for the South Coast Area Office in terms of growth of the business in the Portsmouth and Southampton areas, both vibrant cities which have so many high-profile venues and host so many major events.”
Showsec is working with two new clients on the Americas Cup World Series, Team Origin Events and Sportsworld Hospitality. Staff are already on site for the ‘build and break’ of hospitality facilities and the Race Village as it spreads out along the waterfront near Southsea Common to accommodate the visitors. Part of that build-up also involves static guarding of the six wing-sailed 45ft catamarans in Portsmouth’s historic dockyard. The security staff will then be out in force for four days of action from July 21 to 24, featuring race days on the Saturday and Sunday, besides other attractions such as air displays from the Red Arrows and Red Bull Matadors.
The 35th Americas Cup began last year, featuring six international teams competing in a World Series that runs through to the finals in Bermuda in 2017. Portsmouth has already hosted one of the legs twelve months ago and now the competition’s return is one of five race venues this year, the others being Muscat in Oman, New York and Chicago in the United States and finally Toulon in France in September.
