Eve

Eve is proud of the relationships it has built with the UK’s leading event organisers and none more so than the London Marathon who Eve have been providing crowd barrier solutions to for the past 25 years which culminated in the largest contract to date at the 2011 event.

Barriers are essential to ensuring the safety of spectators and participants and the overall accessibility of the event.  The Marathon draws huge crowds and barriers protect the route so that the 35,000 participants are on the road and spectators on the pavement. 

Lisa Thompson, Assistant Race Director / Operations, London Marathon commented, “In some places we use barriers to create pens, such as crossing points where spectators can cross the route while the race is in progress.  Barriers also help to enforce road closures and protect drinks stations.”

Eve installed, maintained and removed over 30,000 metres of demarcation barriers along the route, which saw a 100 strong crew utilising over 40 vehicles deliver the solution within the time constraints.

Once installed, the crew, split between 16 standby points, were on hand to 'lock down' the course on the morning of the event - ensuring no breaks in the barrier line and respond to last-minute changes including potential route alterations due to demonstrations.  As the runners embarked on their Marathon, they were followed by the Eve crew on their own marathon to pick up approximately 12km of barriers before the end of the day in order to comply with the demands of local council, Royal Parks, Metropolitan Police and Transport for London.  The entire route was cleared in the following two days.

Lisa Thompson commented, “We have worked with Eve for many years and each year we make minor adjustments to help the operation run more smoothly.  It is a huge task, several thousand metres of barriers to be installed in just a few days and collected immediately afterwards.  The Eve team are very accustomed to working in London and I never have to explain where things are, even on the more remote areas of the route.  The team also understand the sensitivity of certain areas and work hard to ensure that stakeholders are comfortable with their work schedule and procedures.” 

Together with the organiser, Eve reviewed the barriers required and any changes, made adjustments, produced detailed plans, drove the route many times and undertook extensive planning with the team.
 
Mark Fisher, Business Development Manager at Eve commented, "With such an important event it is vital to ensure adequate preparation and work closely with not only our customer, but also third parties.”

Eve’s commitment to ‘green’ was demonstrated by buying the highest quality barriers, implementing an extensive programme of maintenance/recycling and adapting transportation methods/vehicles to maximise loads.  This approach enabled the company to be one of the first suppliers in the industry to be accredited with BS8901 for sustainable event management.

Suppliers must reflect the Marathon’s values in terms of quality, professionalism and reputation. Eve succeeded by building a great relationship with the customer, employing fully trained and qualified staff, delivering a quality service on time and with minimal disruption in the Capital. Even though the event was governed by tight time constraints, Eve’s speed was never to the detriment of service.

Eve’s new barrier wagons, utilised during the Marathon installation, were developed with deployable ‘side walkways to improve safety and efficiency, to ease barrier deployment and recovery, reduce lifting, cut their carbon footprint and allow almost continuous installation resulting in a smoother service delivery. The new wagons were invaluable during the Marathon where speed and avoiding traffic build-up was of the essence.

Lisa Thompson commented, “Eve is our preferred supplier as no other barrier company can come close in terms of stock availability and the expertise needed to help deliver a world class event in a world class city.”

As the iconic event continues to grow, Eve looks forward to continuing to work closely with the organisers to deliver an effective crowd barrier solution.