SOUTHAMPTON BOAT SHOW

All aboard

Following the challenges of 2020, Stand Out chats to the organiser of Southampton International Boat Show

At 18.34 on Thursday, September 10, 2020, an email landed in Lesley Robinson’s inbox. The time is engrained on Robinson’s brain. Why? That’s the time that the email from Southampton City Council issuing British Marine with a directive fell into Robinson’s inbox. British Marine, organiser of BOATS 2020, was forced to pull the event at the eleventh hour, following a last-minute decision by the council’s director of public health, to pull the show.

Robinson, CEO of British Marine, describes the absence of BOATS 2020 presented by Southampton International Boat Show as “the rest”. She settles to talk to Stand Out about 2021 and the 52nd edition of the Southampton International Boat Show, acknowledging the challenges of 2020. “There was no need to be nervous,” she said, but the thought that history could repeat itself is always at the back of one’s mind. “Since the issues of last year, we have spent an inordinate amount of time working with the council.”

British Marine wanted reassurance that the local authority would work closely with the organising team and act with proportionality if it did not believe that the show was meeting the agreed operational measures. Robinson commented: “We’re aware that Health Protection Regulations are still in place, but the world is in a different place and 82 per cent of our population is jabbed. We’re in a very different place than we were a year ago.”

COLLABORATION

British Marine worked closely with Debbie Chase, director of public health at Southampton City Council, and Mary D’Arcy, executive director communities, culture, and homes at Southampton City Council, to ensure that the nine-day event ran without a hitch. Furthermore, the show has grown significantly, spreading its footprint out into the city centre. Collaboration has been key, especially as the show had specific conditions of entry, which included all visitors and contractors having to provide evidence of a negative lateral flow test (LFT).

Southampton International Boat Show had a three-stage entry/security process, which included LFT check, ticket scanning and a bag check.

“The council supports us in a number of ways,” continued Robinson. “They made sure that the five closest pharmacies to site had stocks of tests and also made sure that we had plenty of lateral flow test kits on the entrances.”

Mark Ring, head of events at British Marine, explained how he had daily calls with public health and that public health had visited the site three times. It was happy with the event, which grew by 3,500 square metres. The organising team wanted visitors to enjoy the show in a “comfortable environment” therefore, a new entrance to the show was created outside Southampton’s WestQuay shopping centre. Furthermore, the show was divided into five new zones – Watersports, Dinghy, Classic and Day Boat, On The Water, and Festival Green – with the latter designed to provide visitors with a space to relax and soak up the atmosphere. The zones created a better festival and visitor experience.

Robinson continued: “When two old sea dogs who had been coming to the show for 20 years can walk round the show with their eyes shut, that’s not a good festival experience so zoning the show was a logical thing to do.

“We created destinations for the brands and each zone had its own look and feel,” added Robinson. “We wanted to create a real festival feel but that festival feel is not right for the top end of the market and so it’s something we’ll work on for the future.”

STRESS

“The show hasn’t changed for such a long time,” Ring explained. “The break gave us the opportunity to rebuild and have the confidence to make the changes that we have wanted to. In normal times, we may not have had the ability.”

The change in site layout impacted on several elements. HVAC within the show’s jumbo temporary structures was doubled, 1,500 metres of additional perimeter fence was required, and extra security was needed. Ring admitted that the show had been hit by challenges, just like the rest of the industry, and that certain areas of the site were under stress due to staffing.

“Some events have moved in the calendar to the same date as ours,” continued Ring. “The stress on us has been greater than normal but we have a strong core group of contractors who have worked hard.”

ENORMOUS POTENTIAL

According to Ring, the dedication of the British Marine team and the wider supply chain is just one of several things that stands out this year. Seeing smiling faces is another. Robinson agreed.

“On day two, a traditional visitor came to the organiser’s office and said they’d had a wonderful day. They couldn’t get over the new On the Water stage and seeing the new tech, so much that they were compelled to tell us. It showed that despite the changes we have retained the show elements that people know and love and added things that excite loyal visitors. That was great to hear because we’re in an industry to see people enjoy what we’ve created.”

So, what’s next? What does the future look like? “We’ve learned already that there are things that we want to change in 2022. The zone piece has enormous potential, so we’ll move forward, positively, and expand on the changes we’ve made this year.”

SUPPLIERS LIST

Temporary structures – Mar-key Group and GL events UK Temporary marina – Walcon Marine Pedestrian bridges – Mitchell Bridges Security – Gainsborough Events Management Comms – Redbox Fencing – SLH Contractors Trackway – Sunbelt Rentals Portable buildings – Wernick Events

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