CE Case Study
The Boat Race
Delivering resilient event control, communications, and multi agency coordination for one of the world’s most recognised sporting events.
Context & Background
The Boat Race is one of the world’s most recognised annual sporting events, attracting global audiences, extensive media coverage, and complex operational requirements across a large geographical footprint.
The event presents unique coordination challenges involving multiple agencies, boroughs, safety partners, and operational stakeholders. In 2021, the event relocated to Ely, Cambridgeshire during the Covid-19 pandemic, adding additional layers of public health, operational, and reputational sensitivity.
Controlled Events has supported the event since 2016, helping to strengthen operational readiness, event control capability, and communications resilience year after year.
“The Controlled Events team have since 2016 built a robust and confident Boat Race team, established a Control Room, Communications across a huge footprint, live and responsive with agencies co-located and able to monitor the event.”
The Boat Race Operations Team Operational Partner
The Challenge
The Boat Race requires effective operational coordination across multiple boroughs, agencies, river locations, and public spaces, all within a highly visible international event environment.
Challenges included maintaining resilient communications across a wide footprint, supporting effective command and control structures, coordinating multiple stakeholders, and adapting rapidly to emerging risks and changing operational requirements.
The 2021 event in Ely introduced additional complexity due to Covid-19 restrictions, requiring agile planning, revised operational models, and enhanced multi agency collaboration.
Our Role & Scope
- Radio communications equipment provision
- ECR Manager incident logging deployment
- Event Control management support
- Simulation and exercising activity
- Chairing multi agency meetings
- Event safety documentation support
- Operational coordination across multiple locations
Approach & Solution
Controlled Events worked closely with The Boat Race and operational partners to establish resilient communication systems, strengthen event control structures, and improve multi agency coordination across the event footprint.
This included the deployment of communications infrastructure, incident logging capability, simulation exercising, and operational planning support. Through long term partnership and continuous operational involvement, Controlled Events helped build a confident and adaptable delivery model capable of responding to evolving challenges.
The team also supported event adaptation during the Covid-19 pandemic, ensuring operational resilience and continuity despite rapidly changing requirements.
Outcomes & Impact
Controlled Events supported live event operations through active coordination, communications management, and control room support.
Operational teams and agencies were co located where required, enabling rapid information sharing, collaborative decision making, and effective incident management throughout the event lifecycle.
The event successfully adapted to changing operational pressures, including the relocation to Ely during the pandemic period.
“Rob and his team partner closely with 2CL on making sure everyone has the right communications, set in the right place, so they can engage with the people around them, ensuring that event control runs smoothly for the event.”
The Boat Race Operational Team Operational Partner