Professional Security Magazine has announced that the dual Security TWENTY exhibition-conferences on the island of Ireland, in Belfast and Dublin, are not going ahead in 2020. The pair had already been put back from their early September dates due to the putting back of the annual IFSEC exhibition in London, which has since been cancelled.
ST21 Belfast and Dublin will run on Tuesday and Thursday, September 14 and 16, 2021, at the same venues as in past years, the Europa Hotel and the Red Cow Moran Hotel respectively.
Professional Security MD Roy Cooper said that there were too many questions still about putting on the events, and a decision had to be made before the day. “We had to take a view because we need to market the events and get an audience, and we don’t know whether we can put it on or not,” he said.
It means that the next ST event is due at the Radisson Red Heathrow on Thursday, November 5 – that is still the same venue as in past years, only a new name instead of the Park Inn; just north of the roundabout outside the airport. Pictured, ST19 Heathrow. Roy said: “London is the next one and hopefully by then we will be able to put it on. Let’s hope we will all be able to meet in November and get back to normal.”
Roy explained that each ST event is actually rather three events in one – the charity dinner the evening before; the show floor of the exhibition; and the accompanying conference with speakers. There was doubt over whether all three or any of the three could go ahead; for example, how many exhibitors would be allowed on the show floor, and whether visitors would be expected to keep to a one metre of 2m distance apart for social distancing purposes. Roy said: “In our opinion we couldn’t deliver the event as we have successfully over recent years, and we don’t want to do anything that would be less than ideal.
“But we are running the virtual event STVE, so exhibitors can take part if they aren’t already.”
To recap, the last ST event that did go ahead was the first of 2020, ST20 Birmingham in February. The ST20 dates in Manchester and Glasgow were put back and are due at their already arranged venues – first in Glasgow, at the Hilton Hotel in William Street on Tuesday, November 24; and in Manchester at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel (the summer 2019 venue, then called the Principal Hotel), on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. We return to the Hilton at the NEC for ST21 Birmingham on Thursday, February 18.
The annual Women in Security awards night has also had to be postponed, from September to February 10, 2021; you have until December to make nominations in five categories. Visit https://professionalsecurity.co.uk/wis/.
