The Event People and Top Gear team speed into Milton Keynes

The Event People team had their work cut out on 28th July when Milton Keynes Council appointed them to prepare a full traffic management plan for a BBC Top Gear filming project. The plan was put into place to conform to chapter 8 guidelines and ensure the F1 cars could move around the centre safely whilst minimising disruption to other road users. Top Gear sped into town to showcase Formula One cars in a filming session which saw Lotus, Williams and Red Bull cars zipping along Avebury, Silbury and Midsummer Boulevard’s. Northampton based Event People provided around forty members of staff to manage road closures, stewarding requirements and security for the duration of filming. The Top Gear episode aired on 4th August featuring the Lotus, Williams and Red Bull cars driving through the city centre. The footage showed the cars travelling from the Red Bull factory, through MK city centre and onto London before reaching their final destination on the Mall. Top Gear is the most watched factual TV programme in the World and organisers, Milton Keynes Council were delighted to accommodate the Top Gear crew for the day, entrusting The Event People to manage security, stewarding requirements and road closures to ensure the event ran smoothly without incident. The City’s starring role on Top Gear has further raised the profile of Milton Keynes as an advanced automotive city after already establishing a reputation as an urban hotbed for high performance manufacturing with Red Bull HQ already based in the City. “It was important to ensure that filming could take place safely without causing disruption to the public or other road users”. Commented Pam Gosal – Corporate Head of Economic Development & Inward Investment for Milton Keynes Council. “Seeing the F1 cars cruising around our grid road system was quite a sight and it really showcased Milton Keynes.” “Our traffic team really rose to the challenge on event day and managed to conform to all necessary guidelines for road closures whilst keeping spectators and other road users safe” said Carl Taylor – Event People Traffic Manager. “It was a great event to be a part of, if a little out of the ordinary for us! We all sat down to watch the Top Gear episode featuring the MK footage when it aired on 4th August after a job well done”. The Event People Ltd is based in Northampton with additional offices in Milton Keynes and Derby. The company provide bespoke event management services and quality temporary staff to the event industry nationwide.