Crowd management and event security for the third stage of the Tour de France on Monday, July 7, is by the contractor Showsec. Managers will direct a 3,000-strong workforce who will be deployed along three sectors of a stage taking cyclists from Cambridge to London where they will finish in The Mall with Buckingham Palace as the backdrop.
It is only the fourth time in its history that the Tour de France has come to the UK. This month the Grand Depart begins in Yorkshire. While Showsec have some involvement in the delivery of the first two stages, the main focus of attention is on the third stage when Le Tour heads south.
Steve Reynolds, Showsec’s Regional Manager for the South, will be the Head of Stewarding on this occasion. He said: “The scale of the operation which we are putting in place makes this the biggest single day in the Company’s history. Just to be part of a sporting event of this magnitude is a tremendous privilege, but the sheer size of that involvement makes it even more momentous.
“It’s a massive operation which reflects the iconic status of the Tour de France, the vast area which three sectors of this stage cover in the Greater London area and the enormous amount of interest in the sport from a spectator point of view. That interest has been heightened, of course, in the past couple of years by the success achieved by Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome [pictured].”
Innovision are responsible for production of the event. “We have worked with Innovision in recent times on the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, the Paralympic Marathon and the Athletes’ Parade following the London 2012 Olympics, so this is right up there alongside them,” added Reynolds.
“They are a company who demand the highest quality of service, therefore the extent of our planning and preparation is geared to ensuring that is the case. There is no other event quite like it and the fact that it is a working day makes it a different dynamic in terms of the challenges we will face. The fact that it is London means that we are expecting a huge turnout, especially in the big tourist attractions such as the Olympic Park, the Tower of London, along the River Thames, the Houses of Parliament and then the finish in The Mall.”
He added: “The convoy is massive, taking 30 minutes to pass through any one point and the cyclists are actually only a small part of it. In fact, it is estimated that 40 per cent of spectators are there to see the publicity caravan which is a parade of 190 promotional vehicles.”
While Reynolds will be heading the operation from Palestra, Martin Lewis (Wales and South West Area Manager) will be fulfilling the role of Operations Co-ordinator from the Olympic Park HQ Communications Centre. The three Area Managers in the capital – Paul Legge (London East), Louise Stockden (London Greater) and Dayo Adelugba (London West) – will each manage a sector in that stage.
They will be supported by other members of the company’s management team, with a logistics operation of more than 80 staff.
