Operations and Event Health & Safety: Belgravia’s Christmas Trail of Cheer
Background
The OPS team has been working with Grosvenor, one of the UK’s leading property companies, since 2016 - providing a wide range of services to help them deliver a broad range of events.
The company’s annual Christmas event in Belgravia offers guests the opportunity to see Christmas lights come to life on Motcomb Street, Elizabeth Street, Pimlico Road, Eccleston Yards, and Halkin Arcade. Festive displays were created by local florists and set up in the windows of local establishments. A range of food and goods was available to enjoy at the Eccleston Yards' pop-up Christmas market. This year, the London Gay Men's Chorus (Europe’s largest gay male choir) performed across the neighbourhood, and children got to meet Father Christmas, accompanied by live reindeer!
Once again, our team delivered a range of operational and event health & safety services that enabled this event to go ahead.
Challenges
This event is growing year-on-year, and with it the crowds that flock to watch the light switch-on and performances. This year, the event grew into new areas including Orange Square and Newson’s Yard. We reflected on crowds seen at the event in 2022, forecast attendance for this year’s event, and concluded that a road closure would be a suitable to put in place on Elizabeth Street this year. This was an immediate success - eradicating vehicle-pedestrian conflict, ensuring the safety of guests and staff, and creating more space for people to view the entertainment.
Roaming entertainment included Santa and his elves, snowmen from Saddler’s Wells, and the London Gay Men’s Choir. We ensured performers were accompanied by security at all times to ensure safety and crowd management.
Live reindeer were also present at the event and walking along the streets. We liaised with Project Farm to make sure we had all the necessary documentation and that this had been processed by City Vet and Westminster Council. Meanwhile, we ensured hygiene was kept up at all times with hand washing facilities on site.
The vast nature of the event meant there were a wide range of different logistics to organise. This made it challenging managing security and event staff to ensure all areas of the event were covered at the right time. Additional site visits and extra planning, however, ensured all areas and aspects of the event were effectively managed.
Delivery
Event Documentation (Event Safety Management Plan, Risk Assessment, Counter Terrorism Risk Assessment, parking suspensions, Event Application)
Liaison with Westminster City Council
On-site health and safety advisors
Auditing of suppliers across multiple areas
Results
Thousands of happy guests
New road closures successfully implemented and managed
Exceptional feedback from the client, who is keen to continue expanding our retained services