Just under 150 delegates attended the 2018 Annual NOEA Convention and Awards yesterday as the association posted a record number of delegates for the day’s theme ‘It Could Never Happen to Me’.

The convention itself included a series of high-profile and personal speeches and panel discussions, built around a live scenario workshop.

Industry legend Dick Tee, EnTEEtainment, bought to bare over 37 years-worth of experience as the opening keynote speaker for the day, in a speech that covered everything from adverse weather, cancellation, security alerts, national bereavement and crowd control. Dick shared some amazing stories of when things go wrong, in front of a captivated audience.

The National Events Intelligence Unit (NEIU) then took to the stage with up-to-date information on the issues affecting major events into 2018, but to also share the numerous successes and achievements of the unit since it rebranded from Operation Gothic. There were also highly entertaining and deeply personal stories from Becky Stevens, Hybred Events, and Industry Consultant Simon Hughes.

However, the main set piece of the day was a live role play presented by A.C.T (National) Ltd, and led by Bev Osborne, Training 4 Resilience. Bev firstly presented a crisis scenario, and then invited the delegation to vote on a series of decisions through a live poll, eventually leading to a conclusion for the event. The individual session was followed up by a group workshop where tables were given different scenarios and invited to suggest actions and strategies for dealing with them.

Linda Krawecke from Tiger Tea, shared an update on her businesses work around creating ‘safe places’ at festival sites throughout the summer, before the audience was given a supplier’s perspective with NOEA Futures Supporters, A.C.T (National) Ltd, GL events, Eventbrite, Arnold Clarke, all adding vital intelligence to the discussion.

The day finished with a summarising panel discussion with Nick Morgan, We Are the Fair; Tom Clements, Vice Chair, NOEA; CC BJ Harrington; Chris Hall and Phil Atkinson, A.C.T (National) Ltd, Kevin Wade, Wrightsure; and moderated by Phil Day from Laceys Solicitors.