• Client - Global Peace & Unity Events Foundation

• Event - The Global Peace & Unity Event (GPU)

• Delegate numbers - 70,000

• Requirements

The Global Peace & Unity Event launched at ExCeL London in 2005 with the aim of providing a platform for inter-faith dialogue and facilitating an exchange of ideas between people from a diverse range of faiths and backgrounds.

The scope of the event spans from an international conference requiring a high seating capacity, an exhibition space to cater for both local and international clients, educational seminars, a VIP hospitality suite to receive guests and family entertainment, hence the chosen venue needed to offer a considerable amount of flexible event space.

Over 70,000 delegates attend the two day event, travelling from both within the UK and from outside. A venue with good transport links was also a requirement. In addition the event is attended by numerous high-profile speakers, government ministers and VIPs, so venue security was also an important consideration as well as proximity to a sufficient selection of accommodation in the form of nearby hotels.

The event is broadcast live to over 130 countries, thus carrying a strong demand for sufficient space for technical equipment and long-hall crowd coverage.

 

• Event Solution

ExCeL London's multi-purpose, flexible Event Halls provided the organisers of the Global Peace & Unity Foundation with the blank canvas they required to accommodate both an arena (for up to 12,000 delegates) and a 16,000 sqm exhibition space.

As well as featuring over 300 exhibition stands, the exhibition floor also incorporated an entertainment zone for children, with a variety of fairground rides, as well as competitions, sporting activities and a Health Zone. The event also included a gallery styled art-exhibition, which needed to ensure a controlled environment for the artefacts and exhibits whilst simultaneously allowing for a free-flow crowd movement.

ExCeL London's Platinum Suite, which is easily accessed from the Event Halls, provided the ideal location for VIP reception, lunches and an event finale Gala Dinner, whilst the venue's Gallery Meeting Rooms hosted a series of educational seminars.

The event welcomed over 70,000 delegates who were able to take advantage of fast transport connections to the venue. With 3 onsite DLR stations, access to London Underground and 3,700 onsite parking spaces, ExCeL London provided easy access for all attendees. The proximity of the hotels made it an ideal visit for visitors coming from further afield with a significant number of delegates coming from outside London.

 

• Results

The Global Peace & Unity Event has doubled in size since its launch at ExCeL London in 2005. With over 70,000 visitors at the last event, it is recognised as the biggest multi-faith gathering of its kind anywhere across Europe. It has successfully transformed from a 1 day event to a full weekend package.

"In 2005 whilst we were organising our first event, we considered numerous venues in and around London. As this was our first event, we were unsure of numbers of attendees to the event, although, we were hopeful this would be in the thousands. We had in fact over 25,000 people attend the event. ExCeL London was perfect in accommodating the large number of people over the one day event. Over the years the event has grown from one day to two and from 25,000 in 2005 to over 70,000 attending in 2010.

Our event has many different aspects to it which includes different activities and attractions all requiring their own space. The layout of ExCeL London which allows flexibility in terms of dividing different modules was perfect to allow us to either section of activities (sports), or to keep them open (exhibition or conference). We wanted a venue that we could use every year for our event and we found ExCeL London to be the ideal venue which could accommodate the variety of activities we have at our event in addition to the large numbers of attendees we expect every year. We have visitors travelling in from all over the UK and also from abroad and therefore the accessibility to the venue is also an important factor as ExCeL London maintains good road, rail and airport links.

We also found the ExCeL London management very willing and cooperative - working with us closely at each stage to ensure that our planning and delivery was successful. Their expertise combined with our enthusiasm has helped us deliver a bigger and better event each successive year."
Salauddin Ali, Global Peace & Unity Events Foundation