Feature
informed on the benefits to the local
economy.”
A spokesman for Clarion also added:
“DSEI pays for 100 percent of the cost
of the event’s security and policing,
and always has done. This includes
the attendance on site of Ministry of
Defence Police, who have a specific
responsibility for protecting British
military personnel and equipment.
Their costs are paid for in full by DSEI.
DSEI does not require the attendance
of the Metropolitan Police on site.
A number of protest groups have
been running their own events
outside of the ExCeL campus,
throughout the week (as has been
done during previous editions)
immediately preceding DSEI. It is the
Metropolitan Police’s decision alone
as to whether they attend and what
level of resourcing is required to police
these events. It is worth noting that
these protests cover a wide number
of political issues, such as Brexit and
climate change, and the Met has a
statutory responsibility to police
them, as they would with any other
public protest.”
DSEI 2019
up 3% with 36,169 unique visits
1,700 UK and international
companies as exhibitors
400 new companies
(Including Boeing and Airbus)
44 national pavilions
“if we had paid for
policing, we probably
wouldn’t have the show
today” – Philip Soar
Jeremy Rees, CEO, ExCeL London
“The world-leading events staged in
the UK are a catalyst for economic
growth, driving billions of pounds of
import and export activity. ExCeL
London plays its part by hosting over
400 events a year bringing together
four million people and 40,000
exhibitors, from across the world.
Events at ExCeL support 37,600 jobs
and contribute £4.5 billion to London’s
economy, as well as drive 50 percent
of London’s ICCA-rated delegates. We
are committed to ensuring our voices
are heard across local and national
Government, to communicate the
positive economic and social impact
that events deliver and to maintain
the UK’s reputation as a globally
recognised events destination.”
Executive chairman and CEO
of CloserStill, Philip Soar, who
previously chaired Spearhead, the
owner of DSEI from 2001 to 2003, said
DSEI has a long history of discussions
about policing costs. He said: “CEO
Bob Munton and I regularly met with
several senior police officers - at
the highest level in the Met - and I
remember on one occasion they asked
us to pay some £4m in costs, being
the amount they claimed the policing
was costing them. They made the
comparison with football clubs, who
paid policing costs. I had owned and
was still a director of Nottingham
Forest FC and disagreed with their
approach.
“I argued that we actively invited
spectators to football games, so I’d
expect to pay for policing. But we
didn’t invite protesters to DSEI -
rather the opposite. So the comparison
was not valid. What worried me then
and now was the wider implication
for the industry, because if we
had paid for policing, we probably
wouldn’t have the show today and the
protestors would have won. And of
course, they’ll just move on to another
event. I remember Clarion once had
protesters outside its Baby Shows on
the basis that it also ran DSEI. Thin-
end and wedges is the concern."
October — 31