The family entertainment festival Camp Bestival is an annual pilgrimage to the picturesque setting of Lulworth Castle, close to Dorset’s Jurassic Coast for its fans. Showsec have been the crowd management and event security contractors. After the event, the firm spoke of the emphasis on customer care in their operation to help provide a safe and enjoyable experience for the thousands of families.
Dave Grindle of Loudsound Productions is the festival’s Event Manager. He said: “Our aim each year is to make Camp Bestival the best family party you’ll ever go to and I certainly think we succeeded in doing that once again. The challenge is always to make the event bigger and better, but we can only do that with the tremendous support we receive from members of the Camp Bestival team, and Showsec have played an important part in that respect. They have been with us right from the very start and they have made a significant contribution to getting us where we are today.”
He added: “Showsec provide an important service in terms of security and safety, but it is delivered in a very customer focused way. The staff have embraced the whole ethos of the festival and they have helped to make it a relaxed, friendly and enjoyable environment.”
Steve Reynolds, Showsec’s Regional Manager (South) who was Head of Security at Camp Bestival, said it was a question of getting the balance right: “Security and safety remain of paramount importance at an event which attracts such a large public audience and a high proportion of campers, but we do place an enormous amount of emphasis on staff being the friendly face of the festival.
“Many of them have, in fact, been working at this event for a number of years and they look forward to this occasion because of its special atmosphere. We have a long-standing relationship with Loudsound Productions and Bestival, something that has taken time to build. So we always endeavour to raise the standard of service in the hope that we can remain a part of this festival for years to come. As an award-winning family festival, Camp Bestival has an excellent reputation for providing a very positive experience for all those who attend and therefore the audience has high expectations in terms of customer service.”
The music line-up across the three days at Lulworth Castle was headlined by James, De La Soul and Basement Jaxx; also featuring Sinead O’Connor, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Boy George and Johnny Marr.
