NATO Leaders’ Meeting
The Brief
Identity was honoured to be selected by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to support with the delivery of the NATO Leaders’ Meeting 2019, a complex, high-profile and historic event marking the 70th anniversary of NATO. This was one of the largest successfully delivered events by the UK Government in 2019 and demanded a significant budget to reflect its scale and importance. Identity ensured the seamless delivery of all services required.
The brief required the delivery of all infrastructure, facilities, overlay, event management, production services and host broadcast/media services to support this complex and momentous event, which was held at The Grove Hotel in Watford, along with two large scale transport hubs. The event was attended by 29 Heads of Government and their supporting delegations, totalling approximately 1,200 people, with an international media presence of over 1,500.
Deliverables & Highlights
Identity’s extensive experience of delivering major government events meant that we had an in-depth understanding of government working and cross-government collaboration, allowing us to seamlessly integrate with the overarching government structure to deliver a one team approach to the delivery.
Identity was instrumental in the strategic event planning, applying a strong customer focus and exceptional delegate experience to cater for the global interest the event would attract. Our creative event services department developed a dynamic look and feel and applied this across the event, ensuring a consistent thread and an immersive experience showcasing the most historic moments in NATO’s history.
The full suite of services that Identity delivered were extensive and included: CAD & creative design; broadcast capabilities and media stands; arrangements for VVIPs; staging, over 7,000 sqm of temporary structures with level flooring and sound-proofing to house a Leaders’ meeting room, arrivals ceremony, press briefing rooms and a media centre; end-to-end programme logistics; infrastructure including power, heat, lighting, trackway and cabling; an integrated IPTV system with video screens positioned across the site; IT; flags; emergency evacuation procedures, safety planning and public address systems; communications systems; resilience strategy; traffic management, security and helicopter planning; toilets and welfare; brand assets; planting and floral dressing; catering and crew.
The Results
To deliver this major, high-profile event, Identity collaborated with multiple stakeholders including the FCDO, NATO, The Grove Hotel, Metropolitan and Hertfordshire Police forces, Watford and Wandsworth Borough Councils, Transport for London, Hertfordshire Ambulance and Fire Services, 10 Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence.
Demonstrating optimum value for money was critical. Identity consistently identified cost efficiencies and added value, supported with transparent financial reporting to allow the FCDO to track project spend. In-depth management information was also provided to support high level reporting and to support event planning.
“I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you and your colleagues for all the support we received from Identity in the run up to and during the NATO Leaders’ Meeting at The Grove. Events of this scale are always challenging, and we count on the support of our delivery partners to help us overcome the challenges we are inevitably confronted with. Our collective efforts and positive working relationship paid off in full on this occasion. We have had overwhelmingly positive feedback from our visitors and senior stakeholders. The build looked absolutely fantastic. We could not have achieved this without your commitment and professionalism.” – Deputy Director, Protocol, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)