Case Studies

VE Day praise

by Mark Rowe

Prime Minister David Cameron was among those to salute the contribution of Showsec to the celebrations which marked the 70th anniversary of VE Day.
The crowd management and event security contractors worked on the staging of events over three days in London that marked the end of the Second World War in Europe. It was while members of the Showsec team were drawing a week of duties to a conclusion that they had an impromptu meeting with Mr Cameron in Horse Guard’s Parade.

Operations Executive Andrew Agnew said: “He was out jogging on the Tuesday evening. We acknowledged him as he went past and he made a point of stopping to thank us and to tell us that we had all done a fantastic job on such a great occasion.”

The commemoration meant working again with the BBC’s Special Events team who broadcast live across the three days, most notably A Party To Remember, the concert staged at Horse Guard’s Parade featuring Status Quo and Katherine Jenkins.

After receiving complimentary messages themselves, Guy Freeman, Editor of Special Events at BBC Events, said: “Thank you so much for coming together again – like the Avengers – to create a very special show at incredibly short notice. I do mean it when I say that it’s a show that we can all be incredibly proud of in every respect. Every department excelled itself to turn what was just on paper into an extraordinarily powerful, evocative and poignant tribute to a very special generation.”

Chief Inspector Mark Chatfield, from the Metropolitan Police, has also stated that it had been a “pleasure” working with the Showsec team on the celebrations.

While a workforce of almost 700 was deployed over the week, the main focus of the whole operation was on events in St James’s Park in central London, including a vehicular display and the concert in Horse Guard’s Parade, as well as a parade of veterans of 1939-45.

After a service of thanksgiving on the Sunday morning, that parade took veterans and current servicemen from Westminster Abbey to St James’s Park where they were welcomed to a reception hosted by The Royal British Legion.

Dayo Adelugba, Showsec’s Area Manager West London, said: “Though this was essentially a big celebration, the high-profile of those people attending and the circumstances in general at the time meant there was a heightened level of security throughout. As well as VE Day itself, we had recently had the arrival of a Royal baby and right on the eve of this event there had, of course, been the general election as well.

“These were all important considerations in planning the security protocol with a high level of attention to detail at every stage in the process. In those circumstances, there were many challenges, but due to a fantastic team effort, it went very well and everyone seemed happy, even David Cameron. This gave us the opportunity once again to build a closer relationship with some important stakeholders through working on a major event in London.”

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