Case Studies
Red carpet event in Lagos, Nigeria
Site security and VIP movement for major red carpet event in Lagos, Nigeria
Big show business events are a common sight in western capital cities like London, Paris and New York. But now, significant growth in the online streaming market mean that corporations are now looking at emerging areas such as West Africa to grow their market share.
Sceptre Protection were tasked with planning and delivering a major red carpet event in Lagos, Nigeria, that would be broadcast globally with international stars in attendance.
While London, Paris and New York have long experience in hosting these big events, where the key infrastructure is already in place, security providers face new challenges in safely managing major functions in settings such as Lagos. These include an increase in both generic and local risks, as well as possible corruption and potential violence. Also, the local security agencies might have limited experience in handling big events, which therefore requires the deployment of “softer” skills in a high-risk environment.
Among the challenges facing the team were establishing an accurate assessment of risk, building a proportionate security plan to mitigate that risk and putting in place sufficient contingencies to deal with the unexpected. Other challenges would be in finding skilled local suppliers and reinforcing the acceptable parameters within which they were permitted to operate. Sceptre were also required to arrange a secure airport meet and greet service with close protection and police escort to transport VIPs to and from the airport.
The event security planning and resilience was tested with the spontaneous arrival of one of Nigeria’s regional kings with his entourage and a multitude of armed guards. The arrival of the King was a welcome boost for the event, but the presence of so many lethal weapons within the site -- especially during broadcast -- was not welcomed by the event director.
Sceptre Protection was able to intervene, reassure the royal guard about Sceptre’s ability to guarantee the king’s safety and diplomatically negotiate the absence of weapons on site.
This experience proved that, with the necessary level of expertise at the helm, a tried and tested format such as a red carpet event or press junket can be held safely in emerging market areas. Sceptre have returned with the same client many times to Nigeria and have delivered safe and secure events on every occasion.
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