The Balearic Islands came to Manchester City Centre from May 1 to 3 with a community event to promote the islands as a tourist destination.
Event security contractor Showsec’s Manchester office drew on many years experience securing events in the city centre and selected the appropriate staff to maintain the party atmosphere. Relevant experience of working on large multi-cultural projects had to combine with local knowledge, to interact with a carnival crowd.
Showsec spoke afterwards of a detailed crowd management plan across the multi-venue event site, taking into consideration crowd movements, traffic management and securing the temporary venues during the events and overnight. The site featured two marquees in the City Centre with live entertainment, food and drink sampling, Minorcan Horses and riders performing unique dressage routines and art and craft workshops. At scheduled intervals throughout the long weekend a parade with over 100 performers including circus acts and stilt walkers travelled through the main city shopping area. Each day came to a close with a firework display with incorporated pyrotechnics and dance.
Alan Wallace, Showsec Manchester’s Area Manager said: “We devised a tailored crowd management plan to specifically account for the diverse range of activities that were taking place across the weekend. This included 24 hour security for the stars of the weekend – the Minorcan horses – where I’m pleased to say the atmosphere was calm and stable throughout the event.”
