AP Security ensures safety and security at biggest Bengali event in Europe

19 July 2010

Baishakhi Mela is the biggest Bengali event in Europe and features a heady mix of a colourful parade, live music, DJs, dance, costume, arts, crafts and the best Bengali food outside of Bengal itself. This year saw East London enjoy one of its most colourful events, the Baishakhi Mela, with over 110,000 people keen to welcome the Bengali New Year. This record-breaking crowd enjoyed one of the hottest days of the year so far, but AP Security’s staff were on hand to ensure that everybody kept a cool head.

It was AP Security’s second year providing staff at the event, the company’s long working relationship with both the Metropolitan Police and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets ensuring that its safety and stewarding was seamlessly integrated.

The Mela covers a wide area, including parks at Allen Gardens and Weaver’s Fields, plus many of the surrounding roads. With responsibilities including phased road closures, crowd management and safety, keeping local residents happy and dealing with the inevitable occasional minor flashpoint between groups of local youths, AP’s planning began at the beginning of the year. Come the day, with its 100-strong team meticulously briefed, AP’s planning paid off and the event proceeded extremely smoothly.

“The Mela is a complex event and all our staff need to have a very clear understanding of what’s required,” says Adam Scott, AP’s head of security at the Mela. “The rolling road closures are an especially complex area to manage. Ensuring that they are closed (and stay closed) when required, but are opened as quickly as possible afterwards, takes very careful co-ordination and clear communication.”

Of course, an event attracting up to 110,000 people will always throw up unexpected challenges and AP’s ability to respond quickly, on the company’s own initiative, was key to another highly successful presence at the Mela. Integrating seamlessly with the police on site, AP staff were able to sort out any issue’s at a moment’s notice, without the delay which would be caused by lots of two-way communication with the Met first.

“We were delighted with the quality of AP Security’s staff and the company’s usual meticulous input to the planning of the event and its delivery on the day,” says Nick Green, senior arts and events manager at Tower Hamlets council. “This was the most successful Mela yet and AP played a significant part in how smoothly everything ran.”

“It was another highly successful event,” confirms Adam. “Hot weather always means that people get frustrated a little more easily than on a cooler day, but our highly trained staff know exactly what to expect in any given conditions and to adjust how they react accordingly. We were very pleased to be part of such a successful event for the second year and look forward to many more.”