How the British Grand Prix went smoothly at Silverstone

The 2024 British Grand Prix Formula 1 motor race took place over 52 laps of the 5,891 kilometre Silverstone Circuit in July 2024, with Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes securing the victory. Over the Grand Prix weekend, 480,000 people visited Silverstone, with a record-breaking 164,000 people present for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Leading up to the Formula 1 race, there were 19 sessions of on-track action over the course of the weekend, including the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and Formula 3 and Formula 2, as well as performances from 47 musical acts across three stages, including Rudimental, Stormzy, Pete Tong and Kings of Leon.

With hundreds of thousands of people attending the event, it was critical that people were kept safe, with no threat of overcrowding. The Silverstone team were seeking an experienced supplier to provide a complete Barriers and Fencing solution. A range of Plant machinery was also sought to support the Silverstone team for the build itself, the derig and during the event for purposes such as the filming teams obtaining the correct camera positions.

The Challenge 

This was a challenging event due to its high profile, volume of equipment required, safety requirements and time constraints. The event took place during peak summer season for the events sector, when demands for equipment across the industry are at their highest. As with many large scale events, there were many last minute requirements for additional equipment to be delivered within very short timeframes.

The Solution 

We were extremely well placed to deliver the complete Barriers and Fencing contract, owing to its scale, availability of equipment, extensive events experience and ability to mobilise and demobilise thousands of barriers within hours.

15,000m of Crowd Control Barriers were installed, along with 1,000m of Police Barriers to help control the flow of people, prevent heavy crowd surges and create a secure environment. Barriers were placed in multiple areas, such as at the entrance, in the pit
areas and around rental equipment - to help keep everyone safe, including spectators, staff, drivers and support teams.

Over 7,000m of Mesh Fence Panels were also installed around the perimeter of Silverstone for site security. These panels were also used to display company branding. The Trakway crew installed 196 square metres of temporary walkway in order to provide pedestrian access and protect the grass underneath.

To support the Silverstone team, we also supplied a total of 13 Stage V Telehandlers, 13 Powered Access Machines and 2 Accommodation Units to ensure welfare facilities were provided. The 24/7 engineer cover and breakdown team ensured prompt resolution of any machine issues. In addition to the equipment originally hired, We successfully fulfilled every additional request from the customer with rapid turnarounds - often delivering or changing equipment on the same day as the request.

The Result 

With effective planning by an experienced team, we worked closely with the Silverstone team to help deliver a world class event, successfully deploying thousands of products within a very short space of time and ensuring that all on-site contractors could complete their sections on time, ready for the event to go live.

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