Over 7,000 attend the launch event UK Security Expo at London Olympia this month

Attendance figures for this month's launch event UK Security Expo have been declared at 7,132. Visitors travelled from 81 countries for the two day event which took place at London Olympia from the 30 November - 1 December. UK Security Expo, which grew out of the Transport Security Event, Transec, saw a 49% increase in visitors year on year.

Peter Jones, Chief Executive at UK Security Expo, who has overseen the transition of Transec into UK Security Expo believes the success of the event highlights the need for a high-end large scale security event which can deliver a global audience of heads of public and private sector security to London.

He stated "UK Security Expo was an exceptional event. We hosted over 7,000 attendees during the course of the two days, including senior ministers - UK Security - Minister Ben Wallace MP, Secretary of State, Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox MP and Transport Minister for Aviation, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon."

"We also delivered over 300 scheduled face to face meetings, 39 Officially Hosted Country Delegations working in cooperation with Department for International Trade DSO, 6 high level conference programmes, workshops and live demos and features including the Prime Contractors Capability Lounge, the Prime Engagement Programme, the MoD Defence Innovation Initiative and the Perimeter Security Solutions Lounge."

"One of the most popular features was the Immersive Crowded Places Demonstration in association with the Home Office JSaRC and the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) which used the venue itself as the place to be protected."

Roger Cumming, Managing Director, Fenley Martel Limited and Project Manager of the feature commented "The key to a successful visitor experience is the ability to see the various technologies working in as realistic setting as possible. Creating that environment required imagination and sustained input from all of the 24 companies involved in the demonstrator, and I am delighted with the positive response we have received."

Andy Blackwell RISC, Director, Blackwell Security Consulting and former Head of Security, Virgin Atlantic stated UK Security Expo was "a most impressive and unique event which provided excellent learning, networking and business opportunities. The Government and Industry collaboration so evident at UK Security Expo 2016 will no doubt make a positive difference and stand us in good stead for the future. I look forward to supporting the event in 2017."

Professor Chris Hankin, Director, Institute for Security Science and Technology at Imperial College London also commented"The UK Security Expo was an excellent event.  The workshops and conferences speakers were of uniformly high quality.  The venue provided an outstanding opportunity for making new contacts and networking.

Adding to this, Chris Tomlinson, Senior Consultant - Resilience, Security & Risk, Arup commented "UK Security Expo is the best event in Europe to meet security professionals and suppliers with global reach ... I was struck by the breadth of threat issues addressed and by the number of international delegates drawn to a world class conference and exhibition; an event clearly supported by a range of UK government agencies you would not ordinarily have access to."

Peter Jones concludes "There's a significant momentum to the event and anecdotal evidence, media reporting and the messages we are receiving is overwhelmingly positive. Over 90% of exhibitors have already rebooked. I would like to thank all our exhibitors, partners and stakeholders who have worked so hard to make UK Security Expo such a success in its first outing. I would also like to thank our attendees especially those who had to endure the unsatisfactory queues on the first day. We have already started our planning for 2017 and I am pleased to announce that UK Security Expo 2017 will be in the Grand Hall which has a far larger entrance and many more lanes of security, making for a smoother more efficient entry process."

"Our vision is to grow UK Security Expo into the largest and most credible security event globally. I am thrilled to lead one of the most talented teams in the exhibition industry, under the chairmanship of Former Security Minister, Admiral Lord West and look forward to starting on our journey for 2017."