An Act of Logistics

As I hustle and bustle around London this week meeting several incredible vendors who have worked on Royal Weddings and Royal Affairs of the past (blog to follow), I am awestruck each time I take a moment on the streets of London to notice the logistical monstrosity that is the plan to pull off a Royal Wedding.

Sure there are the "wedding details" - Seating Charts, Royal Protocol, Timelines for departures and arrivals, event planning for private dinners, receptions, a ceremony, dinner and a party, dressing protocols for the Abbey and for the Palace, the flowers and the FOOD! - all of them being slowly leaked by Buckingham Palace. But then also there is the task of setting up a parade to the Church and back from the Palace along the streets of London for upwards of an expected 1 million visitors.

All along the route, miles and miles of road barricade is being distributed and set-up. London is a biking city, but the rent-a-bikes have been picked up from stations around town. Scaffold structures have been erected every 100 yards or so with camera crews masked behind plywood painted "stone" to blend in with buildings. All of the back streets are filled with placed boom lifts, from which I assume cameras will be lofted tomorrow.

Today, we were walking the streets and heard the public "sound check" as the speakers strategically positioned, and often hidden were playing ceremonial music. In Trafalgar Square, half of the square has massive truss structures and erected to support speakers and screens for viewing tomorrow. Behind them, MSNBC is broadcasting live from a 20x60m (it appears) tent in front of the National Garden. In about 15 minutes we are headed to the Fox Studios - one of a dozen shooting studios rented by US and foreign press, erected as huge green structures outside Buckingham Palace, green to blend in with the trees. Everyone is positioned and ready to capture the Pomp and the Circumstance of tomorrow; Everyone is set to catch every detail and break the news of each detail of this Royal Affair.

But to the folks who will never get the credit, the team buried somewhere inside the Royal Staff or the Government who is responsible for managing all of the logistics required to pull this feat off, I tip my cap. Because the chaos is lacking drama - I am amazed at how smooth the set-up is, from my vantage point as a person on the street. Having been a part of the Republican National Convention hosted in Minneapolis/St. Paul in 2008 - I remember all of the security, the drama and the struggle of getting around. But none of the vendors we have met with have suggested this to be the case. I am sure their are challenges, but I am amazed at how easy it all feels and how close I as an everyday person can get. Changes, Road Closures, Tube issues and suggestions are all being clearly communicated. Nothing is stopping us from moving about the city in the midst of their set-up. While I am sure this is not the fist time the logistics team has planned or set-up this type of an event, they have perfected the art; it is certainly very well done. And I can't wait to see it come together tomorrow.

To Manage or To Create Expectation? That's my question...

This week I find myself fortunate enough to be located in London in the midst of action surrounding the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine (Kate) Middleton. Whereas I thought the US press was obsessed, you can't turn the corner in London this week without seeing a new breaking piece of news or a new "promotional product," - as we would call them at a company meeting, though I doubt William or Kate are benefiting from the "branding"- promoting the big day!

With little doubt the expectations are high. And then today, BizBash magazine emailed me a quote from an NBC Executive that the Royal Wedding represents "[O]ur biggest international technical build-out ever." Everyone has hope; this will be bigger than the 1981 spectacle of Will's parents, Prince Charles and Diana. But then again, I am wondering if that will be true...

The world is different than 1981. The Royal Family and Britian are a different place. America is different and the media has radically changed! But what are our expectations? In the United States, though Twitter is ablaze with "who cares" and royal wedding media coverage burnout, the truth is that this is a spectacle we want to see and to be a part of. Royalty is not part of the American culture; and so we have to live vicariously through the English Monarchy... They are the fairytale fantasy... We want a big wedding to wow us. We don't need opulence, but some small part of our culture would love to bask in it. And as an events industry, I believe there is a hope that this event will drive both trends and spending in social events on "our side" of the pond.

And yet, as I am talking with individuals involved in Royal Weddings of the past, there is a side of this affair which I haven't heard yet. The Royal Couple is "holding back" this time around and many royal traditions of weddings past are being bucked not (or not only) because this is a modern couple, but because (get this) of the economy. The economy is still in the midst of a recession abroad and William and Kate are leery to "show-off" too much.

So what will that mean come Friday? There are definite positives to this attitude: Social Media access to this event for folks worldwide (though lets see the reaction); a donation of 500,000 quid to 26 local charities in place of gifts; and a commitment to sustainability as the flowers in Westminster Abby will be live, including trees, rather than all cut - so that they can be replanted post wedding. But there will be no traditional towering showcase cake. Maybe the dress will end up being elegant, but underwhelming. Will we still be blown away with the fantasy of a wedding attended by an estimated million people live on the streets of London? Or will it under-deliver in the name of the people?

Well weddings are generally outside of my jurisdiction of work, this story raises an interesting question which is relevant for all events. What is our role as event professionals, as the event planners or the clients throwing events, in creating expectations for our guests/our audiences? What is our role in managing them? I am currently working on a project with a corporate client in just this situation. They threw an incredible, interactive, highly engaging brand launch in 2010. They have decided to do the event again, but not with the same budget. And the attendees are the same. How do you manage the established expectations from 2010 in 2011, or do we work to create a completely new project to create new expectations of the audience this time around?

For Events, which is it? Do we manage expectations? Or do we create them?