Race Against Time in Puerto Banus

54 had just three months to prepare for the staging of the E1 Puerto Banus Grand Prix in Marbella, the premium global electric speedboat series.
  • Client
    E1
  • Services Rendered
    Event Management, Event Staging, Event Hospitality Management, Fan Zone Activation, Stakeholder relations
CHALLENGE

54’s event management unit won the tender to stage the third round of the 2024 UIM E1 World Championship in Marbella just three months before the event. The E1 Puerto Banus Grand Prix required 54 to work closely with a myriad of key municipal stakeholders as well as numerous business owners, restaurants and shops which all had to keep fully operational until the race weekend officially started. You can lock down a golf course, but a thriving tourist and commercial port is a different matter.

So, 54 worked closely with the port owners Civitas Puerto Banus, the Andalucian Government and the local National Guard to ensure business activities could continue unaffected while also ensuring that all health, safety and emergency procedures were followed. The site build also faced the challenge of having to ensure a protected local species of mollusc came to no harm.

The logistics challenge was added to by having an events, suppliers and support team of around 300 people in a geographically tight and challenging site.

635 guests in two temporary hospitality venues

No items found.
SOlution

54 built a stunning event and hospitality complex on the 900m long breakwater at the Andalucian marina, having to navigate a narrow pedestrian pathway and busy tourist crowds to ensure the build did not prove too disruptive to local trade. 54 also created the Acceleration Festival, a fan zone featuring interactive activities and other attractions for some 10,000 visitors which attended the two days of the race weekend. Unexpectedly poor weather meant qualification sessions and the racing itself had to be brought forward each day and the experienced events team reacted at speed to ensure the action on the water and the enjoyment of the big crowds were not impacted.

Raceview area of 250 special guests

$20m boost to local economy

100 global media on site

CONCLUSION

A successful event with significant global coverage and important dignitaries on site, including the President of Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno, was staged amid a series of challenging and circumstances. Around 10,000 spectators lining the natural viewpoints around the port witnessed American singer, Marc Anthony’s, E1 Team Miami blast to victory on the choppy waters. It demonstrated 54’s unrivalled ability to work flexibly within a tight infrastructure and framework, as well as creating engaging on-site builds for crowds eager to see a new challenger sport.

0