FOCUS COP 26
Government planning document reveals the intricacies behind delivering a global climate change summit
With up to 200 heads of state, COP 26 in Glasgow will be the biggest event of its kind ever to come to the UK
BY KEVIN O’SULLIVAN A
massive temporary build programme is to be central to the delivery of a global climate change summit to be hosted in
Glasgow, according to government documents published online. ‘Substantial structure builds’ are
set to transform the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) where up to 200 Heads of States gather for the UK’s largest ever business event – COP 26 – in November. Te UN’s official climate change
conference, which takes place in the city from 9 to 19 November, will require a radical transformation whereby double-storey hard sided structures, measuring approxi- mately 45,000 square metres, will be constructed within the car parks of the SEC, as well as ‘further struc- tures’ on the opposite side of the River Clyde to accommodate a ‘fully equipped media centre’.
Details of the requirements for
the event were published on the
GOV.UK website, under the contract finder service. Te Request for Information (RFI) COP 26 Produc- tion Services notice, first issued in November, was the initial market engagement carried out by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Major Events Team, the department’s Whitehall-based event management service, which organises meetings, conferences, summits and events throughout the UK. Te briefing document was published to give events industry suppliers across the UK an indica- tion of what will be required to stage the multinational summit, which will see the biggest security operation protecting dignataries since the Gleneagles G7 summit in 2005. In a fascinating glimpse of what
is to be required at the SEC, the RFI document gave a detailed blueprint of the venue to help events compa- nies familiarise themselves with the layout of the building. It describes in great detail how the event will flow: according to the document, the first two days of the conference will see between 150-190 heads of state arriving, with the high-level ministerial delegates participating in week two. During that time a
10 | EVENTSBASE | SPRING 2020
WITHOUT DOUBT COP 26 IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX AND CHALLENGING DIPLOMATIC AND BUSINESS EVENTS EVER TO BE HELD IN THE UK. WE ARE DELIGHTED THAT IT IS COMING TO SCOTLAND AND GLASGOW AND IT IS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOWCASE OUR INDUSTRY TO THE WORLD.
Neil Brownlee, Head of Business Events at VisitScotland
total of up to 110,000 square metres of venue space will be given over to the conference plenary and meeting rooms, office spaces, arrival and search facilities, exhibition and catering space.
AND IN LINE with the environmen- tal goals attached to the conference, the document revealed: “Tere will be a major focus on sustainability in all aspects of the conference. Use of local suppliers and workers will be encouraged to bring economic benefits to Glasgow and the sur- rounding region. “It is incredibly important for the
reputation of the UK, the British government and the supplier pro- viding the services that the success- ful company/companies delivers to an extremely high standard, on time, environmentally sustainable and within budget.” Neil Brownlee, head of business
events at VisitScotland, said the repu- tational effect of staging the event in Scotland is an opportunity to dem- onstrate to the world the exceptional ability of its events industry. He said: “Without doubt COP
26 is one of the most complex and challenging diplomatic and business events ever to be held in the UK. We are delighted that it is coming to Scotland and Glasgow and it is
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
