Sword Event Guard UK

12/18/09

SWORD WIN MAJOR INTERNATIONAL EVENT AWARD

Sword Event Guard International, Ireland's leading event security company has won the prestigious Sports Event Management Award for best security team at a major event. The Award went to Sword for their role in securing the Volvo Ocean Race stopover in Galway in June.

The race stopover festival which transformed the city's docklands and brought over €50 million to the city was watched by over 1billion people globally and had over 600,000 visitors over the course of the 2 weeks. Sword staff were responsible for safety and security of the event and its assets for the entire duration from the multi-million euro racing yachts to the concerts which happened over the 2 weeks. The challenges of the event included the securing a major city centre event, the water hazard of its location alongside the docks and managing major numbers of visitors who attended the open air concerts.

 

Over 150 entries were received for the Awards and over 200 guests attended the Ceremony. A panel of distinguished international judges, including newly elected IOC Executive Committee member Sir Craig Reedie, had their work cut out in deliberating the short listed entries.

 

Nigel Rushman, Chairman of the judging panel, and head of Rushmans - an international sports event management company skilled and experienced in major sports event management and event operations in over 30 countries said;

 

"Congratulations to Sword, The judges were extremely impressed by their entry which stood out in a very competitive category. They have earned the right to be considered the best in world in their area in 2008-09"

 

Diarmuid Smyth, the Managing Director of Sword who accepted the award said; "I am extremely proud of my team who worked hard throughout the entire event to ensure the safety and security of the visitors to the festival. The Award is a testament to their professionalism and dedication to their work. The duration of the stopover and the multifaceted nature of the event was challenging but the team showed that they can work to the highest standard and this award is a recognition of this."

 

Sword are an International Security and Crowd Management company, originally founded in Galway. Sword now have offices throughout Ireland and the UK with over 1000 staff in the company. Diarmuid is also the current chairman of the Event and Entertainment Division of the Irish Security Industry Association(ISIA) , Ireland's leading industry representative body.