Showsec was formed in 1982, by the collaboration of two crowd management professionals Mick Upton and Gerry Slater, creating the first company dedicated to providing consultancy, security and stewarding services to major events.
Working on events such as Monsters of Rock at Castle Donnington and Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in 1985, Showsec quickly created a specialist pool of knowledge and experience. They moved their original London office from Holloway closer to Wembley Stadium, where they managed crowds at the most prestigious concerts in the UK during the 1980’s and 1990’s.
The demand for the company's expertise soon grew. The Leeds office opened in 1990 taking on work with Leeds United and key events at Roundhay Park, such as the sell out Michael Jackson Concert. The offer of opportunities outside London continued to arrive and satellite offices were subsequently opened in Peterborough, Leicester and Cardiff, creating local crowd management teams for local services and major one off events requiring specialist knowledge.
In 1995, the opening of the Nynex Arena in Manchester marked a significant advance in Showsec’s development as a service partner with a venue. The company worked alongside the venue to provide a tailored in house crowd management consultancy service specific to improving customer service in the venue.
With a prominent and more permanent presence in the North, Showsec began to pick up contracts ranging from football clubs to council events to student unions to concerts, which developed a northern regional division.
Collaboration of Resources
The continuous drive within the company resulted in significant progress in the year 2000. Showsec’s vision to incorporate a wider range of idealisms and experiences encompassing Europe came to fruition in January 2000, when Showsec underwent a change of ownership, becoming partners with The Netherlands' most successful crowd management company: “The Security Company”. This newly formed alliance now provided Showsec with a true European identity and together with The Security Company, they still form Europe’s largest and most successful crowd management company, as part of ICMS (The International Crowd Management and Security Group).
The companies regularly undertake work throughout Europe, particularly for high profile events requiring professional crowd management services, such as the MTV European Music Awards and the Lowlands Festival.
Growth means responsibility
With an increasing workforce Showsec relocated its head office to Leicester to best facilitate national development of the company. To give staff the best possible opportunities Showsec created a dedicated training department to provide training courses to all of Showsec’s staff. The introduction of this new department illustrates the company's desire to become a nationwide strategic service provider.
Creation of the UKCMA
It became apparent that the UK's crowd management industry would benefit from an organisation to regulate standards. Former Chairman of the company, Bert Van Horck, being a member of the Dutch equivalent was instrumental in carrying through this important development.
Showsec has always been a member of trade bodies reflecting the company’s aim to improve standards across the whole industry. These have included the Production Services Association (PSA), National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA) and The Events Services Association (TESA). However Showsec identified that these were not dealing with the specialised area of crowd management. In 2000 Bert Van Horck contacted several UK crowd management companies and instigated the creation of a United Kingdom Crowd Management Association (UKCMA), and Showsec became its founder member in 2001, when it was launched at the International Live Music Conference. This was an important milestone for the crowd management industry as well as Showsec’s history.
Respected professionals
The experience and knowledge of Showsec's Management Team has resulted in invitations to present talks at UK and International conferences, including the ISSS (International Sports Security Summit) pictured Mark Logan, Northern Region Manager with John Saunders (OBE). Click here for further details. Event Industry Conferences in Munich and Noorderslag in the Netherlands. In July 2005, Simon Battersby - Southern Region Manager was invited to speak at The Event Show, Olympia, London about the role of Showsec at Live 8. Click here for more information.
