‘I’ve worked for Sunbelt Rentals for 27 years and we’ve been involved in some exceptionally high profile events during that time. In 1997 (the year I started) Sunbelt Rentals provided crowd control barriers for Princess Diana’s funeral and since then the team has been relied upon to install barriers for the Tour de France (twice), the London 2012 Olympics, NHS testing centres, Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, and the coronation of HRH King Charles III.
‘This July alone, we installed around 300km of barriers and fencing is a real-life example of Sunbelt Rentals’ huge scale and capacity.
‘Long-standing partnerships built on trust and reliability also mean that we support our customers with plenty of regular repeat events, such as Farnborough International Airshow, Notting Hill Carnival, and London Marathon.
‘These annual projects mean we often have to prepare for 2025 before the 2024 event has even taken place; The Great North Run for example attracts around 60,000 runners – so we need to book accommodation for our staff well in advance. One of the many benefits of working with Sunbelt Rentals, in my opinion, is that we have lots of full-time event employees on the road all year round. This means event organisers get real consistency of knowledge and experience.
‘The Great North Run is also a good example of how quickly an event can be turned around. Runners and spectators – ie those not in the industry – might not realise the unseen work that goes on; the finish line can be established in advance as this is off the main road network, and we can stack barriers along the route ready to be set out on the morning of the run, but the biggest challenge is the start point. We have to close the road, set up and then wait until the last runner has just left before quickly dismantling it in order to safely reopen the highway. I wonder how many runners consider the fact that the start line no longer exists by the time they reach the finish?’
The UK event industry is bouncing back following the Covid-19 pandemic: ‘We’re seeing a lot more events across the UK, complete with last minute orders and increased competition. The industry seems to be thriving, and despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic there is a prevailing sense of optimism.
‘We’ve seen noticeable growth in the popularity of winter events with a greater desire for year-round entertainment; a market which Sunbelt Rentals is well placed to serve thanks to our full-time team and low staff turnover to ensure we’re delivering the best customer experience.
‘As you’d expect, we’re also seeing continued demand for sustainable products. When it comes to fencing and barriers, the quality of our versatile police barriers makes them a sustainable option because they are so robust, they rarely get damaged and offer extreme longevity.’
Mark’s best advice for event organisers? ‘Collaborate and share ideas between all companies in the supply chain. Working together, we can pool our collective specialisms to develop the most effective and comprehensive solutions. Here at Sunbelt Rentals, we put this into action every day as it’s one of our company values and bring together multiple experts from across the business to support customers in every sector.’
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Author: Adam Parry
Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.
