Interview
The show goes on
EN talks to Jeremy Rees, CEO of ExCeL London, about the venue’s
role in the fight against Covid-19 and how 2021’s calendar is shaping
Jeremy Rees took over as
CEO of ExCeL London
towards the end of 2018,
after joining the venue in
2010 as its sales director.
Rees is an events man
through and through, having
been an organiser himself
and provider of event
technology. It is fair to say
he has seen it all, or at least
he thought he had. 2020 was
going to be the year that put
ExCeL on the international
map (if it wasn’t there
already), with the all-electric
Formula E series set to race
through and around the
venue in the world’s first
indoor-outdoor motor race.
Then Covid-19 arrived, and
the 100,000sqm venue found
itself very much the centre
of attention, but for a very
different reason.
ExCeL London was turned
into an emergency hospital
for Covid-19 patients,
known as NHS Nightingale
London. Now, ahead of the
conditional event restart
date of 1 October, the venue
has been restored to its
original, event-ready state.
Reflecting on the
experience, Rees notes it was
a privilege to work with the
NHS and its staff during the
unprecedented crisis. “We
are extremely proud to have
played a role,” he says.
“In late March, I was
asked if we would offer our
entire facility to support the
Government and NHS as
part of their response to the
growing surge of Covid-19
patients. The plan was to
transform our venue into the
world’s largest field hospital
with a capacity of up to
4,000 beds. We immediately
agreed and, with the full
support of our owner Abu
Dhabi National Exhibitions
Company (ADNEC), the
work began the following
day.”
It was to be a big job,
but nothing that a team
of experienced eventprofs
couldn’t handle. Rees
notes that the venue’s
engineers, security officers,
cleaners, riggers, and traffic
management team – more
accustomed to hosting
events – worked alongside
the NHS and the military,
as well as event industry
contractors, to complete the
transformation.
September — 17