A case study of security at a private event on Horse Guards Parade in central London, yards from 10 Downing Street. Photo by MPP Image Creation.
Destination and corporate event management company Spectra DMC approached Integrated Security Consultants (ISC) in March about a planned gala dinner for the London Meeting of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL). Under a marquee on Horse Guards around 1,000 covers would be served. Guests were to be welcomed by a choir and the troopers and horses from the Household Cavalry would form a guard of honour. Although the event would be private, it would be in the open and next to a central London public road. ISC provided support to the event, by keeping the site secure during the build and event, and to ensure all ran smoothly.
The event was on September 13, but ISC was on-site 24 hours a day controlling access to the site from four days before for the build, until the site was clear and returned to its ‘blank canvas’ state two days later.
ISC’s business development manager, Paul Griffiths, says: “We had to work closely with the many different parties involved, all of whom had their own needs and expectations. This included not just our client, Spectra DMC, but also the Royal Parks, Met police, the various event contractors and members of the public, because of course, everything we did attracted a lot of attention.”
As well as managing the security of the site, ISC provided corporate security staff to welcome guests, manage public interest, and handle traffic ingress and egress. Griffiths adds: “This event was 18 months in the planning and, naturally, both Spectra DMC and the ACTL had high expectations for the day. Opportunities to hold such prestigious events on Horse Guards Parade are few and far between, so every aspect of the event had to be perfect, from the catering and entertainment to the security team. We spent six months planning and familiarising ourselves with the expectations of our client and ensuring full risk assessments were carried out. We attended planning meetings with the Royal Parks so we understood how the site operated and what to expect, advising on security requirements. The police and Royal Parks wanted to ensure that all health and safety requirements were in place and that the site was secure at all times. We liaised with them and brought security cover forward by 24 hours to ensure that the very earliest stages of the build were covered.”
On the evening, all access points were secured and a crowd of onlookers had to be kept back so that all guests could be admitted during a short 30-minute window, transferring from coaches within seconds. It went without a hitch, but of course there were some challenges, Griffiths recalls. He says: “These were mostly logistical, such as some contractor vehicles turning up without pre-registering. Another challenge was that the site is usually easily accessible to pedestrians from Horse Guards Road. Rather than just station officers along the 160m perimeter, we were permitted the use of crowd barriers to provide an extra layer of defence. Unsurprisingly, holding such a glamorous event in a public place attracted a great deal of attention from passers-by, in particular when the Band of the Coldstream Guards arrived (actually our Managing Director’s former regiment) and played several numbers. The event also coincided with the nearby Proms in the Park, which resulted in large numbers milling around in the vicinity, but this did not pose any problems for our team. We provide only the highest calibre of personnel and while the physical security of the site was a priority at all times, so was the need for competent, adaptive security staff with strong customer service skills.”
As for the client, Mark Wareing, Account Director at Spectra DMC says: “Everyone on the ISC team was really helpful and great to work with. The security manager was totally flexible and I could just leave him to get on with it.”
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