It's now less than six week until the Celtic Manor Resort plays host to an international investment conference that was announced just over six weeks ago by Business Secretary Vince Cable and Welsh Government Minister for Economy, Science and Transport Edwina Hart. So we are halfway between the announcement of the conference and the actual conference taking place.
Apart from the initial excitement from local politicians following the announcement, have we heard anything since about how this event presents an opportunity for Newport, or about how Newport will be taking advantage? Of course we haven't. Or at least I haven't noticed.
This event presents an infinitely bigger opportunity for Newport and indeed Wales than the NATO Summit ever did. The world leaders and media who descended on Newport for the NATO Summit came to discuss global security issues, and they had a very tight schedule in which to conduct their business. Their remit was never to come here with a view to checking out Newport as a destination for business or tourism. And even if they wanted to, they certainly didn't have time.
Yet here we are with the world packing its overnight bag ready to come here and actually discuss international investment, and nobody in local government seems that bothered. I don't see endless tweets about 'opportunity' or 'putting Newport on the map' from the usual suspects as I did during NATO. Perhaps the investment conference is missing the celeb factor of Mr Obama, because frankly, that's all our local politicians cared about when NATO was in town.
Furthermore, the forthcoming conference will be focussing on what I and many others consider to be the REAL future for Newport and the surrounding area - ‘Embracing new technology for competitive advantage'.
With the demise of traditional industries such as steel and coal, Newport and South Wales lost the main source of income that had paid for the growth of our towns and cities throughout the 20th Century. We've tried to attract other industries to varying degrees of success, but what we really need is one overpowering industry that can take root here and which can come to represent us in the same way as steel and coal once did.
Technology offers that potential.
I'm not alone in thinking this and there is a growing local movement that, galvanised by the excellent reNewport report of February 2014, has taken upon itself to drive momentum for Newport as a centre of technology. For instance, launched by Sir Terry Matthews, the regular Digital Tuesday events held at Celtic Manor are gaining popularity as a forum for technology discussion and networking. I attended one recently and the optimism and enthusiasm of attendees and organisers was noticeable.
Many people in the Newport area will not be aware that Newport is excellently equipped to become a 'Silicon Valley' type centre of techology industries. We certainly have the infrastructure, the skills, and indeed a track record of hosting emerging and successful technology business. And in reNewport we have a vision laid out that can serve as a roadmap.
Newport itself was selected as one of the first ten Cities in the UK to become ‘super connected' as part of the UK Government’s £150million Urban Broadband Fund. Equipped with superfast and ultrafast broadband, funding is available for small and medium businesses, charities and social enterprises through Newport City Council.
We even have Europe's biggest data centre which is similar in size to Heathrow Terminal 5 and which is truly state-of-the-art.
This is all excellence stuff, and it just scratches the service of what we have to offer. This is what we need to be promoting to the outside world if we have any serious ambitions to attract inward investment and to grow Newport.
Technology should certainly be the focus of our ambition because technology industries are global, rich, growing rapidly, and offer an opportunity to deliver seriously rewarding careers and generate vast amounts of revenue for the area.
But this is where it hits a speed bump because our politicians seem totally disinterested and incapable of understanding the potential on offer. Instead we get a mindless infatuation with a new shopping centre that will deliver mostly part-time, zero-hour, minimum wage employment, and local councillors fighting over each other to have their photo taken next to President Obama.
Promotional activity should have started the moment the inward investment conference was announced. We should already be reaching out to delegates and global press well in advance to offer them invitations to tour and check out Newport as a technology business destination. The press in attendance will be business press and technology press, most of whom would certainly be interested in taking a look at what we have to offer; the tech businesses we already have here; our tech heritage and our infrastructure. This is in contrast to the military and political press that accompanied the NATO Summit who had no interest in such stuff.
As well as shouting about the benefits for technology businesses should they come here, we should also be shouting about the benefits for their employees. These benefits include cheaper house prices, so tech employees earning fat salaries will know they can afford beautiful houses in a beautiful part of the world.
I sincerely hope all this is in hand and we aren't just going to 'do a NATO' and stand on the sidelines with cap in hand when the international investment conference rolls into town. If it is all in hand, fine, but it might help to shut people like me up if we were kept informed of what the city is doing.
The trouble is, I don't believe it is in hand. Part of the problem will be that our councillors and politicians don't 'get' technology and consequently choose to put their faith, and our money, elsewhere on projects that won't deliver any lasting benefit.
They build shops when, as a city, we don't have money to spend. They build houses when there are not enough well paying jobs that people can afford mortgages. It's putting the cart before the horse time and time again.
We should be doing what we can to attract genuinely valuable business (not coffee chains and clothes shops) and developing an industrial base that generates inward revenue while creating good, well paid jobs. When people are in good jobs and earning good money THEN they will be able to afford houses and have money to spend in shops.
So let's see what happens with the forthcoming international investment conference. Will Newport take this opportunity by the scruff of the neck? It needs to get its skates on if it hasn't already started.
Showing posts with label NATO Summit 2014. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NATO Summit 2014. Show all posts
Friday, 10 October 2014
Friday, 12 September 2014
NATO Summit Wales - The Winners & Losers
So that was the NATO Summit Wales 2014, and what an exciting and dramatic couple of weeks it was. But now it's all over, it's time to look at what really happened during our 15 minutes of fame.
While the event was certainly divisive, with some people relishing its arrival and others outraged by its inconvenience, few people could honestly say they didn't find the whole experience interesting and even entertaining. On that point at least we can be mostly in agreement.
The most welcome surprise were the anti-NATO protests, which were modest and trouble-free, thanks to the overwhelming and well organised security and to concerted efforts by anti-NATO organisations. However, while inevitable bickering about numbers continues, I don't think the protest organisers could honestly be happy with the number of protesters that came. Was it a case of protester apathy? Were they put off by the scale of security? We can't be certain. But we can all be thankful that protesters were able to make their points and have their voices heard, all without a single window being smashed.
OBAMA-MANIA
The actual business of the Summit didn't appear to hold much interest for the people of Newport, and I doubt many Newportonians, if asked, could mention more than a handful of the world leaders in attendance or outcomes of any debates. Newport was understandably more interested in the spectacle - the huge police presence; the skies filled with helicopters and jets; the battleships; the protests; the occasional local political dramas; and of course the movements of the headline act - US President Barack Obama (who unfortunately appeared to have a David Cameron grafted onto his hip for the duration of his visit).
Mr Obama mesmerised Newport to such an extent that other world leaders didn't get a look in. It was all about Obama. Understandable perhaps, but if Newport's goal was to 'showcase itself to the world' we have to admit that in being so overwhelmingly lost in Obama-mania, we also lost focus.
While we were following every footstep of the American president did anyone notice where the other world leaders were or what they were doing? Was there any attempt to engage any other world leader about the benefits of Newport? I'm going to guess not. As a city we've clearly put all our eggs in the American basket. We're obviously not that bothered about Europe and I very much doubt (m)any of the other world leaders will have been particularly encouraged or enthused to 'spread the word' about Newport. After all, we blatantly ignored them.
PUTTING NEWPORT ON THE MAP (AGAIN)
Media coverage outside the region understandably focussed on the 'business' of the Summit, with very little space given to the nuts and bolts of how the event was organised or its impact on us locally. That was the remit of our local and regional media to keep us informed and engaged, and they did a sterling job. I can't imagine the editorial team at the South Wales Argus has had this much fun in years.
The business of the summit was of global interest, but the big moments for us - such as Mr Obama's visit to Mount Pleasant Primary School, the NATO Festival, and the military fly past - were really of local interest only. These were nice moments for Newport, but were not big news for the rest of the world. The school visit made a nice picture for the world's press and summed up in one image what a trouble-free event it was, but we'd be naïve if we thought it did much to actually promote Newport.
We need to keep some perspective here and not get too excited. While Obama's school visit was a huge and wonderful event for the school and for Newport in general, it was after all just another school visit by a President of the United States. They do it wherever they go. It's classic touchy-feely PR and we shouldn't start clutching at straws and thinking it's 'put us on the map' in any way.
In reality, Newport didn't really benefit at all from national and global media coverage. Yes, the name Newport was in there alongside Wales and Cardiff, but we really needed more than simply name placement if we were to seriously 'showcase' ourselves. As it is, the good people of Badiddlyboing (Odawidaho) and Duisberg in Germany might have noticed the Newport name in passing, but do they have any better understanding or awareness of the place? Probably no more than they have a better understanding or awareness of Enniskillen after it hosted the G8 Summit in 2013.
The Enniskillen G8 Summit has quite a few parallels with the NATO Wales Summit. Prior to the G8 there was much talk of 'putting County Fermanagh on the map' and David Cameron declared the summit would be a "brilliant advertisement" for Northern Ireland, and certainly Enniskillen. You will have heard similar words used in the run up to the NATO Summit in Newport. I've yet to hear of any huge input of tourism or business to Enniskillen, but that's probably just because it has yet to be reported [sarcasm mode off].
Unfortunately, as predicted on this blog, the overhyped influx of journalists failed to materialise or deliver. We were promised an army of international media who would all be eating, drinking and sightseeing locally, and then subsequently enthusing about Newport to the rest of the world. Did anybody actually see any of them wandering the streets of Newport, taking pictures and making notes? Of course they didn't. Mostly political and military correspondents, the journalists were tasked with covering NATO business and were never here with a remit to check out the local scenery or hospitality. Also, they were keeping to a very tight schedule and were shepherded around from event to event with no real spare time to visit the rest of the city.
Like the Ryder Cup, the actual event happened anywhere but Newport (with the exception of a school visit).
WE KEEP A WELCOME IN THE HILLSIDES
If there is one thing the world possibly did learn about Newport, it's that we are a happy, smiling, welcoming bunch on the whole. The people of Newport did the city proud. Regardless of whether they were for or against the event, people engaged with activities, were welcoming and polite, and tolerated the inconvenience in generally good spirit.
Of course there were benefits in the huge police presence. Crime was seemingly non-existent for the duration, and the roads were a dream as most of us heeded warnings about probable disruption. This made Newport generally a much more pleasant and laid back place. As @MikeCollins8 pointed out to me recently, if the NATO Summit proved one thing, it's that a visible police presence DOES have a positive effect.
The various police forces have been quick to thank the people of Newport for their hospitality, and the relationship between community and police was a good one throughout. It was nice to see a large party of police enjoying an evening meal at the Ridgeway Bar & Kitchen, and Caerleon also benefitted from their presence with lots of off duty police enjoying local hospitality. This was one area where Newport certainly did reap some rewards.
DELIVERING ON PROMISES?
As the Summit event was undoubtedly a trouble-free 'success' it was to be expected that people would waste no time in celebrating. That's not a problem in itself. But when the usual suspects get so excited they start to bang on about it heralding a golden era they need to be challenged.
On the second morning of the event, before President Obama had even finished his business, Will Godfrey, Chief Executive of Newport City Council tweeted excitedly...
They may be aware of our existence Paul, but exactly what facilities did they see? The world saw the Celtic Manor, it didn't see Newport. The politicians, the delegates, the entourages, the journalists... none of them saw much outside the temporary and tightly controlled environment of the Summit itself. To say we 'truly showcased' anything is ridiculous.
The chance to showcase Newport has been the rallying cry in the run-up to the event with the suggestion that, by presenting the city in a positive light we will undoubtedly reap rewards of inward investment, more business, and an increase in tourists. I don't for a moment disagree that Newport needs to present itself in a positive light for the sake of economic regeneration, however, in response to Mr Godfrey and Mr Flynn (and others) I have to ask the simple question 'Just what exactly did we do to showcase the city and what we have to offer?'
The thing about opportunity is; it's nothing unless you do something to take hold of it. I can walk into a trade show of 1000 businesses tomorrow and see it as an 'opportunity' for my business, but if I just stand there looking I won't convert any of that opportunity into reward. I need to engage with the exhibitors and demonstrate exactly what I have to offer. This is where the powers-that-be failed Newport. They certainly saw the opportunity, but did little, if anything, to grab it. They collectively stood around smiling and hoping that reward would fall like fairy dust from the NATO flag.
The problem now is; the NATO Summit event is over and we are now entering the '...and?' phase. It's a familiar feeling for the people of Newport who expected much from the Ryder Cup. It came, it went, and little if any benefit was felt on the street. Unless a legacy benefit is felt soon, people will have the same resigned disappointed view of the NATO Summit as they have of the Ryder Cup.
The Celtic Manor did a great job of providing the host facilities, and in doing so has further climbed the ladder of international venue credibility. And the UK Government has done a sterling job of organising the NATO event and the security. Other international events will decent upon the Celtic Manor, and indeed there are already whisperings and rumours of another major event on the way in a few short years. The NATO Summit certainly showed that the Celtic Manor and UK Government could host the G8, so I wouldn't be surprised to see that heading our way.
From an opportunity perspective, G8 would be far more valuable to Newport. It's a summit about global economics, and so the attending journalists and delegates will be of more value. These are people we certainly should be looking to impress. We can only hope that Newport elders can look past the thrill of the event and make more of a concerted strategic effort if such an event did come.
Perhaps that's the real mistake made with the NATO Summit. It's an event about global politics and security, not about economic development and trade. It was probably a mistake to think it could ever be of any real major benefit to the city.
But should the day come when a G8 Summit is announced, Newport should waste no time at all at reaching out to every financial and business publication/journalist likely to attend and conceiving ways to truly showcase the city to them.
SO WHO DID BENEFIT?
There were businesses and organisations that certainly benefitted directly from the Summit, if only on local level. A number of businesses were invited to the Celtic Manor to demonstrate their wares, and although it's unlikely they'll suddenly find themselves deluged with international orders, they will have enjoyed a heightened local profile that they can hopefully build on. And as mentioned above, quite a few local eateries and hostelries will have benefitted from an influx of hungry coppers and even hungry protesters.
Nobody can begrudge any of these businesses their temporary spike in trade. However, we should be careful about hailing this limited success as an overall triumph for Newport when, for every business that enjoyed a spike there was a business that took a definite hit.
The manager of the Kingsway Shopping Centre has claimed in the South Wales Argus that the Summit 'depleted sales' for his retailers. With the roads empty for the duration of the event we can only presume many other business noticed a drop in trade. On top of this we need to factor in the businesses that were stretched when people took leave to look after children when schools were closed, or which were inconvenience in other ways. I doubt anybody will do any actual cost/benefit calculation, but it's safe to assume the actual cost to the local business community easily outweighed the benefit for the lucky few.
I sincerely hope I've hugely misjudged this and Newport will benefit directly from the NATO Summit. I really don't see how it can, and I'll put good money on the people of Newport viewing the event with resentment in a year's time after the thrill has faded. I suspect the big optimistic words of Will Godfrey et al will come back to bite them on the backside. For Newport's sake I hope mine do instead. But let's just say I'm not going to invest in thicker trousers any time soon.
While the event was certainly divisive, with some people relishing its arrival and others outraged by its inconvenience, few people could honestly say they didn't find the whole experience interesting and even entertaining. On that point at least we can be mostly in agreement.
The most welcome surprise were the anti-NATO protests, which were modest and trouble-free, thanks to the overwhelming and well organised security and to concerted efforts by anti-NATO organisations. However, while inevitable bickering about numbers continues, I don't think the protest organisers could honestly be happy with the number of protesters that came. Was it a case of protester apathy? Were they put off by the scale of security? We can't be certain. But we can all be thankful that protesters were able to make their points and have their voices heard, all without a single window being smashed.
OBAMA-MANIA
The actual business of the Summit didn't appear to hold much interest for the people of Newport, and I doubt many Newportonians, if asked, could mention more than a handful of the world leaders in attendance or outcomes of any debates. Newport was understandably more interested in the spectacle - the huge police presence; the skies filled with helicopters and jets; the battleships; the protests; the occasional local political dramas; and of course the movements of the headline act - US President Barack Obama (who unfortunately appeared to have a David Cameron grafted onto his hip for the duration of his visit).
Mr Obama mesmerised Newport to such an extent that other world leaders didn't get a look in. It was all about Obama. Understandable perhaps, but if Newport's goal was to 'showcase itself to the world' we have to admit that in being so overwhelmingly lost in Obama-mania, we also lost focus.
While we were following every footstep of the American president did anyone notice where the other world leaders were or what they were doing? Was there any attempt to engage any other world leader about the benefits of Newport? I'm going to guess not. As a city we've clearly put all our eggs in the American basket. We're obviously not that bothered about Europe and I very much doubt (m)any of the other world leaders will have been particularly encouraged or enthused to 'spread the word' about Newport. After all, we blatantly ignored them.
PUTTING NEWPORT ON THE MAP (AGAIN)
Media coverage outside the region understandably focussed on the 'business' of the Summit, with very little space given to the nuts and bolts of how the event was organised or its impact on us locally. That was the remit of our local and regional media to keep us informed and engaged, and they did a sterling job. I can't imagine the editorial team at the South Wales Argus has had this much fun in years.
The business of the summit was of global interest, but the big moments for us - such as Mr Obama's visit to Mount Pleasant Primary School, the NATO Festival, and the military fly past - were really of local interest only. These were nice moments for Newport, but were not big news for the rest of the world. The school visit made a nice picture for the world's press and summed up in one image what a trouble-free event it was, but we'd be naïve if we thought it did much to actually promote Newport.
We need to keep some perspective here and not get too excited. While Obama's school visit was a huge and wonderful event for the school and for Newport in general, it was after all just another school visit by a President of the United States. They do it wherever they go. It's classic touchy-feely PR and we shouldn't start clutching at straws and thinking it's 'put us on the map' in any way.
In reality, Newport didn't really benefit at all from national and global media coverage. Yes, the name Newport was in there alongside Wales and Cardiff, but we really needed more than simply name placement if we were to seriously 'showcase' ourselves. As it is, the good people of Badiddlyboing (Odawidaho) and Duisberg in Germany might have noticed the Newport name in passing, but do they have any better understanding or awareness of the place? Probably no more than they have a better understanding or awareness of Enniskillen after it hosted the G8 Summit in 2013.
The Enniskillen G8 Summit has quite a few parallels with the NATO Wales Summit. Prior to the G8 there was much talk of 'putting County Fermanagh on the map' and David Cameron declared the summit would be a "brilliant advertisement" for Northern Ireland, and certainly Enniskillen. You will have heard similar words used in the run up to the NATO Summit in Newport. I've yet to hear of any huge input of tourism or business to Enniskillen, but that's probably just because it has yet to be reported [sarcasm mode off].
Unfortunately, as predicted on this blog, the overhyped influx of journalists failed to materialise or deliver. We were promised an army of international media who would all be eating, drinking and sightseeing locally, and then subsequently enthusing about Newport to the rest of the world. Did anybody actually see any of them wandering the streets of Newport, taking pictures and making notes? Of course they didn't. Mostly political and military correspondents, the journalists were tasked with covering NATO business and were never here with a remit to check out the local scenery or hospitality. Also, they were keeping to a very tight schedule and were shepherded around from event to event with no real spare time to visit the rest of the city.
Like the Ryder Cup, the actual event happened anywhere but Newport (with the exception of a school visit).
WE KEEP A WELCOME IN THE HILLSIDES
If there is one thing the world possibly did learn about Newport, it's that we are a happy, smiling, welcoming bunch on the whole. The people of Newport did the city proud. Regardless of whether they were for or against the event, people engaged with activities, were welcoming and polite, and tolerated the inconvenience in generally good spirit.
Of course there were benefits in the huge police presence. Crime was seemingly non-existent for the duration, and the roads were a dream as most of us heeded warnings about probable disruption. This made Newport generally a much more pleasant and laid back place. As @MikeCollins8 pointed out to me recently, if the NATO Summit proved one thing, it's that a visible police presence DOES have a positive effect.
The various police forces have been quick to thank the people of Newport for their hospitality, and the relationship between community and police was a good one throughout. It was nice to see a large party of police enjoying an evening meal at the Ridgeway Bar & Kitchen, and Caerleon also benefitted from their presence with lots of off duty police enjoying local hospitality. This was one area where Newport certainly did reap some rewards.
DELIVERING ON PROMISES?
As the Summit event was undoubtedly a trouble-free 'success' it was to be expected that people would waste no time in celebrating. That's not a problem in itself. But when the usual suspects get so excited they start to bang on about it heralding a golden era they need to be challenged.
On the second morning of the event, before President Obama had even finished his business, Will Godfrey, Chief Executive of Newport City Council tweeted excitedly...
#NATOSummitWales - truly showcased Newport to international audience - Newport unquestionably #cityontherise
— Will Godfrey (@WillGodfrey1) September 5, 2014
Mr Godfrey wasn't alone and many others have posted similar excited sentiments. Paul Flynn MP on his blog wrote "Thousands of very influential people will now be favourably disposed towards Newport. Large areas of the world are aware of our existence and the facilities that we have to offer."They may be aware of our existence Paul, but exactly what facilities did they see? The world saw the Celtic Manor, it didn't see Newport. The politicians, the delegates, the entourages, the journalists... none of them saw much outside the temporary and tightly controlled environment of the Summit itself. To say we 'truly showcased' anything is ridiculous.
 |
| President Obama's motorcade. The extent of Newport's 'showcasing' amounted to the US president being acquainted with the M4 and Brynglas Tunnels [ photo used by kind permission of www.space-events.co.uk ] |
The chance to showcase Newport has been the rallying cry in the run-up to the event with the suggestion that, by presenting the city in a positive light we will undoubtedly reap rewards of inward investment, more business, and an increase in tourists. I don't for a moment disagree that Newport needs to present itself in a positive light for the sake of economic regeneration, however, in response to Mr Godfrey and Mr Flynn (and others) I have to ask the simple question 'Just what exactly did we do to showcase the city and what we have to offer?'
The thing about opportunity is; it's nothing unless you do something to take hold of it. I can walk into a trade show of 1000 businesses tomorrow and see it as an 'opportunity' for my business, but if I just stand there looking I won't convert any of that opportunity into reward. I need to engage with the exhibitors and demonstrate exactly what I have to offer. This is where the powers-that-be failed Newport. They certainly saw the opportunity, but did little, if anything, to grab it. They collectively stood around smiling and hoping that reward would fall like fairy dust from the NATO flag.
The problem now is; the NATO Summit event is over and we are now entering the '...and?' phase. It's a familiar feeling for the people of Newport who expected much from the Ryder Cup. It came, it went, and little if any benefit was felt on the street. Unless a legacy benefit is felt soon, people will have the same resigned disappointed view of the NATO Summit as they have of the Ryder Cup.
The Celtic Manor did a great job of providing the host facilities, and in doing so has further climbed the ladder of international venue credibility. And the UK Government has done a sterling job of organising the NATO event and the security. Other international events will decent upon the Celtic Manor, and indeed there are already whisperings and rumours of another major event on the way in a few short years. The NATO Summit certainly showed that the Celtic Manor and UK Government could host the G8, so I wouldn't be surprised to see that heading our way.
From an opportunity perspective, G8 would be far more valuable to Newport. It's a summit about global economics, and so the attending journalists and delegates will be of more value. These are people we certainly should be looking to impress. We can only hope that Newport elders can look past the thrill of the event and make more of a concerted strategic effort if such an event did come.
Perhaps that's the real mistake made with the NATO Summit. It's an event about global politics and security, not about economic development and trade. It was probably a mistake to think it could ever be of any real major benefit to the city.
But should the day come when a G8 Summit is announced, Newport should waste no time at all at reaching out to every financial and business publication/journalist likely to attend and conceiving ways to truly showcase the city to them.
SO WHO DID BENEFIT?
There were businesses and organisations that certainly benefitted directly from the Summit, if only on local level. A number of businesses were invited to the Celtic Manor to demonstrate their wares, and although it's unlikely they'll suddenly find themselves deluged with international orders, they will have enjoyed a heightened local profile that they can hopefully build on. And as mentioned above, quite a few local eateries and hostelries will have benefitted from an influx of hungry coppers and even hungry protesters.
Nobody can begrudge any of these businesses their temporary spike in trade. However, we should be careful about hailing this limited success as an overall triumph for Newport when, for every business that enjoyed a spike there was a business that took a definite hit.
The manager of the Kingsway Shopping Centre has claimed in the South Wales Argus that the Summit 'depleted sales' for his retailers. With the roads empty for the duration of the event we can only presume many other business noticed a drop in trade. On top of this we need to factor in the businesses that were stretched when people took leave to look after children when schools were closed, or which were inconvenience in other ways. I doubt anybody will do any actual cost/benefit calculation, but it's safe to assume the actual cost to the local business community easily outweighed the benefit for the lucky few.
I sincerely hope I've hugely misjudged this and Newport will benefit directly from the NATO Summit. I really don't see how it can, and I'll put good money on the people of Newport viewing the event with resentment in a year's time after the thrill has faded. I suspect the big optimistic words of Will Godfrey et al will come back to bite them on the backside. For Newport's sake I hope mine do instead. But let's just say I'm not going to invest in thicker trousers any time soon.
Tuesday, 8 July 2014
NATO Summit 2014 yet to show any signs of delivering on 'opportunity' promise
The closer the NATO Summit gets, the further away the much hailed 'opportunities' retreat. With the revelation that the vast majority of journalists will be accommodated in Cardiff, it becomes clear that the promise of a huge media presence in the city and a chance to showcase ourselves is evaporating. One of the biggest carrots has gone rotten...
Media accreditation is now open for the NATO Summit Wales 2014. Up to 1,500 journalists and other media representatives now need to register and go through security scrutiny before they can receive their passes to attend. Pretty standard stuff for such an event.
The Summit has been hailed as a 'great opportunity' for Newport, and although public feeling has done a 180 degree U-turn against the event, there are still die-hards insisting that it's going to be great for the city. But while we learn daily of more ways in which the Summit is going to be one big, expensive inconvenience, we have yet to see any actual sign of a benefit beyond 'it will raise the profile of the city'. Excuse me while I yawn.
The arrival in Newport of the massed ranks of the media has been one of the main carrots dangled from the start. The expectation was that thousands of journos would be descending on the city with their expense account credit cards, buying 'I Love Newport' t-shirts, eating in our restaurants, drinking in our pubs, and writing glowing reports of what a fabulous city this is and how people and businesses around the planet should think seriously about coming here.
That carrot has now passed its 'use by' date.
As well as opening registration for media passes, the Government has also appointed HRG as the nominated agency to book hotel accommodation for journalists and media crews who wish to attend the NATO Summit Wales 2014. It's a convenient service for international media flying in from all corners of the globe - a one-stop-shop where they can book their accommodation securely through a Government appointed representative.
However, there are only six hotels listed on the HRG webpage, and guess what? Four of the six are in Cardiff. But the picture for Newport is even bleaker because combined the two Newport hotels have only 346 rooms between them. The other 1154 rooms needed will be in the capital. So while a third of the hotels are in Newport, less than a quarter of the rooms needed are.
Obviously this is great news for Cardiff, its restaurants and businesses. And we can confidently predict there will be vastly more international promotion for Cardiff than Newport in any coverage surrounding the Summit. In fact, it will be pretty damned hard to find much positive pro-Newport coverage at all following the event.
But we have to be realistic here, because Newport is not overly well endowed with hotel accommodation away from the cluster around the Coldra roundabout. Once you take the Celtic Manor Resort out of the picture, the city simply doesn't have the capacity to comfortably accommodate 1,500 international journalists who will (rightly) be expecting something a bit better than the Travelodge in the city centre. So if you are the Government organising the Summit, it makes sense to work with Cardiff hotels. That's not where the issue lies here.
The issue is once again with the nonsense STILL being regurgitated by the die-hards and political optimists about 'a great opportunity' and how this is a chance to 'showcase Newport'. There are plenty of examples, for instance Conservative MP David Jones who recently tweeted...
Just having famous world leaders descending on Celtic Manor Resort simply doesn't cut it as an answer to the question, because it doesn't think through the reality.
Mr Obama and the rest will have very tight schedules and will be tied up with the business of the Summit. It is highly unlikely they will have the time or inclination to go out sightseeing in Newport, and indeed with tens of thousands of protesters in the city they will be deterred from doing so by their security. So we can count out the political delegations who won't dare to venture anywhere near Newport, and we can also count out the majority of journalists who, if they do venture into the city, will do so only to cover the protests.
So who does that leave? Who are we counting on to witness and report to the world on our showcase opportunity? And what actual form is the 'showcase' taking? Perhaps if somebody could convincingly answer these questions we will at least know who we are targeting and how the city is going to do it.
UPDATE
A meeting of the HOC Welsh Affairs Committee entitled 'International Representation and Promotion of Wales by UK bodies' is scheduled to take place 2.30pm Wednesday 9th July. It can be followed live at http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=15752
Media accreditation is now open for the NATO Summit Wales 2014. Up to 1,500 journalists and other media representatives now need to register and go through security scrutiny before they can receive their passes to attend. Pretty standard stuff for such an event.
The Summit has been hailed as a 'great opportunity' for Newport, and although public feeling has done a 180 degree U-turn against the event, there are still die-hards insisting that it's going to be great for the city. But while we learn daily of more ways in which the Summit is going to be one big, expensive inconvenience, we have yet to see any actual sign of a benefit beyond 'it will raise the profile of the city'. Excuse me while I yawn.
The arrival in Newport of the massed ranks of the media has been one of the main carrots dangled from the start. The expectation was that thousands of journos would be descending on the city with their expense account credit cards, buying 'I Love Newport' t-shirts, eating in our restaurants, drinking in our pubs, and writing glowing reports of what a fabulous city this is and how people and businesses around the planet should think seriously about coming here.
That carrot has now passed its 'use by' date.
As well as opening registration for media passes, the Government has also appointed HRG as the nominated agency to book hotel accommodation for journalists and media crews who wish to attend the NATO Summit Wales 2014. It's a convenient service for international media flying in from all corners of the globe - a one-stop-shop where they can book their accommodation securely through a Government appointed representative.
However, there are only six hotels listed on the HRG webpage, and guess what? Four of the six are in Cardiff. But the picture for Newport is even bleaker because combined the two Newport hotels have only 346 rooms between them. The other 1154 rooms needed will be in the capital. So while a third of the hotels are in Newport, less than a quarter of the rooms needed are.
Obviously this is great news for Cardiff, its restaurants and businesses. And we can confidently predict there will be vastly more international promotion for Cardiff than Newport in any coverage surrounding the Summit. In fact, it will be pretty damned hard to find much positive pro-Newport coverage at all following the event.
But we have to be realistic here, because Newport is not overly well endowed with hotel accommodation away from the cluster around the Coldra roundabout. Once you take the Celtic Manor Resort out of the picture, the city simply doesn't have the capacity to comfortably accommodate 1,500 international journalists who will (rightly) be expecting something a bit better than the Travelodge in the city centre. So if you are the Government organising the Summit, it makes sense to work with Cardiff hotels. That's not where the issue lies here.
The issue is once again with the nonsense STILL being regurgitated by the die-hards and political optimists about 'a great opportunity' and how this is a chance to 'showcase Newport'. There are plenty of examples, for instance Conservative MP David Jones who recently tweeted...
.@NATOWales will be a huge opportunity to showcase Newport, one of the great commercial cities of Wales.
— David Jones (@DavidJonesMP) June 28, 2014
That's a big bold and oft repeated statement. But we need to see a bit of meat on the bones about how this is going to work. Because frankly, it's looking less obvious by the day.Just having famous world leaders descending on Celtic Manor Resort simply doesn't cut it as an answer to the question, because it doesn't think through the reality.
Mr Obama and the rest will have very tight schedules and will be tied up with the business of the Summit. It is highly unlikely they will have the time or inclination to go out sightseeing in Newport, and indeed with tens of thousands of protesters in the city they will be deterred from doing so by their security. So we can count out the political delegations who won't dare to venture anywhere near Newport, and we can also count out the majority of journalists who, if they do venture into the city, will do so only to cover the protests.
So who does that leave? Who are we counting on to witness and report to the world on our showcase opportunity? And what actual form is the 'showcase' taking? Perhaps if somebody could convincingly answer these questions we will at least know who we are targeting and how the city is going to do it.
UPDATE
A meeting of the HOC Welsh Affairs Committee entitled 'International Representation and Promotion of Wales by UK bodies' is scheduled to take place 2.30pm Wednesday 9th July. It can be followed live at http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=15752
Monday, 16 June 2014
The NATO Summit - A 'great opportunity' for Newport?
When Prime Minister David Cameron announced on October 31st 2013 that the NATO Summit would be held at the Celtic Manor Resort, several people were injured in the stampede as local political figures rushed to gush about what a fantastic opportunity this was for the city.
Like the Ryder Cup, the NATO summit would not only 'put Newport (Wales) on the map', but would present a wonderful opportunity for the city to show off its potential to a world that presumably is desperately searching for another small port city. And with thousands of journalists and delegates following the world leaders, this would also supposedly be a boom time for local businesses.
If only life were that easy.
So here we are, eight months later and within the final 100 day countdown to the Summit. How are we shaping up to take advantage of this wonderful and much hailed 'opportunity'? Pretty poorly it would seem. The rose tinted glasses have been removed and the reality of the event is starting to sink in. This isn't going to be an easy event. The NATO Summit is a logistical challenge of immense proportions that will not only cause significant inconvenience, but will come with a significant bill.
The first initial bill for the 2012 Summit in Chicago put the cost of just policing and fire services at $16m. Add to this the largely unmeasured costs associated with cleaning up after the army of protesters and the disruption to business. In May, Assistant Chief Constable Chris Armitt warned the security operation will be a bigger challenge than the London 2012 Olympics. You remember the fuss about security for the Olympics? Anti-aircraft missiles on tower blocks and navy ships harboured in the Thames?
Today the South Wales Argus reports that 'more than 50 schools across Newport could close when the Nato summit begins at the Celtic Manor Resort', the issue being the amount of travel disruption caused by the Summit. Presumably this will mean several thousand working parents needing to use up holiday entitlement so they can stay at home with their children - if they can get it.
Other disruption is becoming apparent, including a new announcement from Newport County AFC warning that fixtures will be moved and the club office, shop and ticket office likely affected as well.
We've already started to hear rumours about police snipers on bridges, random spot checks of vehicles, closed roads and other disruption, and of course the anti-Summit protesters have been very open about their intentions.
So we're getting plenty in about the cost, inconvenience and disruption, but still not one solid idea about how the 'opportunity' will be taken advantage of. Indeed, this has emerged as a point of argument, with local politicians both in Newport and Cardiff bickering and playing the blame game about how no game plan or strategy has emerged. It would seem to our political class, that identifying the Summit as 'an opportunity' is enough in itself.
Ironically, it's the Celtic Manor Resort that has been the most outspoken about this. During May, Celtic Manor bosses voiced their concerns about how 'NATO benefits could be missed.' They were of course spot on, but it's easy to suspect that the statement was ultimately about reputational self-preservation. The Celtic Manor Resort was (rightly or wrongly) criticised following the Ryder Cup when that particular 'opportunity' failed to deliver any obvious benefits to Newport. By voicing their concerns in advance of NATO, they can legitimately holds their hands up after the event and say 'Not our fault. You were warned.'
First Minister Carwyn Jones immediately responded to the Celtic Manor by saying 'Welsh and UK ministers are constantly discussing events they want to hold around the Nato summit in Newport.' With less than 100 days, I don't think we can expect too much from these discussions.
And what about Newport Council? Remember, it was our councillors who were first to rush en masse to announce what a great opportunity NATO presented. Surely they haven't been sitting on their hands?
Unfortunately, it would appear they have (quelle surprise). Council Leader Bob Bright was quoted in The South Wales Argus as late as 9th June as saying, “Officers have been tasked with researching the economic benefits/promotional opportunities of other Nato summits held in major cities elsewhere and with producing an associated PR and marketing strategy that will guide the authority’s promotional activities between now and the summit in September." With less than three months to go, this is far too late in the day to be doing research. Actual plans should already be well developed. Remember, the basic premise has always been about promoting Newport TO THE WORLD. You can't do that in the last week or even the last month before the Summit. It should be happening NOW! In the second great irony, it has been the protesters who have pounced quickest to spread the news of the NATO Summit in Newport.
The third great irony is; that it will be the protesters themselves that offer the greatest opportunity, certainly for local businesses. The world leaders and their assembled entourage won't be spending their hard earned pennies in shops, pubs and restaurants, and most of the attendant media cloud will no doubt camp in Cardiff. The only people guaranteed to descend on Newport itself will be the protesters. They won't be allowed anywhere near the Celtic Manor, so Newport city centre will be where they do their thing, and they will all need to be fed, watered and accommodated. There have already been protest events in the city, so they've started to drip money into the local economy. Of course any money brought in needs to be offset against the cost of policing the protesters, but still, some local business will certainly benefit.
So what is this blog really about? Quite simply, it's about the speed and tedious predictability with which local politicians rush to issue knee-jerk sound bytes without thinking first or without doing basic research to back up their statements. And it's not just politicians. Several local businesses also rushed to gush about how wonderful the NATO Summit would be for Newport. It remains to be seen what actually happens between now and the day NATO rolls out of Newport, but it's my bet that the Summit will deliver little in the way of actual benefit and instead carries a sizable financial and social cost for the city.
Once it's all over and the dust has settled, it will be worth revisiting some of the people who rushed to gush about 'opportunity' and ask where they think they got it wrong. If the Summit goes well and delivers great benefit for Newport, I will, as a cynic from the start, hold my hands up and say I got it wrong. But at least I will have based my prediction on basic research of previous events. Can the politicians say the same?
Like the Ryder Cup, the NATO summit would not only 'put Newport (Wales) on the map', but would present a wonderful opportunity for the city to show off its potential to a world that presumably is desperately searching for another small port city. And with thousands of journalists and delegates following the world leaders, this would also supposedly be a boom time for local businesses.
If only life were that easy.
So here we are, eight months later and within the final 100 day countdown to the Summit. How are we shaping up to take advantage of this wonderful and much hailed 'opportunity'? Pretty poorly it would seem. The rose tinted glasses have been removed and the reality of the event is starting to sink in. This isn't going to be an easy event. The NATO Summit is a logistical challenge of immense proportions that will not only cause significant inconvenience, but will come with a significant bill.
The first initial bill for the 2012 Summit in Chicago put the cost of just policing and fire services at $16m. Add to this the largely unmeasured costs associated with cleaning up after the army of protesters and the disruption to business. In May, Assistant Chief Constable Chris Armitt warned the security operation will be a bigger challenge than the London 2012 Olympics. You remember the fuss about security for the Olympics? Anti-aircraft missiles on tower blocks and navy ships harboured in the Thames?
Today the South Wales Argus reports that 'more than 50 schools across Newport could close when the Nato summit begins at the Celtic Manor Resort', the issue being the amount of travel disruption caused by the Summit. Presumably this will mean several thousand working parents needing to use up holiday entitlement so they can stay at home with their children - if they can get it.
Other disruption is becoming apparent, including a new announcement from Newport County AFC warning that fixtures will be moved and the club office, shop and ticket office likely affected as well.
We've already started to hear rumours about police snipers on bridges, random spot checks of vehicles, closed roads and other disruption, and of course the anti-Summit protesters have been very open about their intentions.
So we're getting plenty in about the cost, inconvenience and disruption, but still not one solid idea about how the 'opportunity' will be taken advantage of. Indeed, this has emerged as a point of argument, with local politicians both in Newport and Cardiff bickering and playing the blame game about how no game plan or strategy has emerged. It would seem to our political class, that identifying the Summit as 'an opportunity' is enough in itself.
Ironically, it's the Celtic Manor Resort that has been the most outspoken about this. During May, Celtic Manor bosses voiced their concerns about how 'NATO benefits could be missed.' They were of course spot on, but it's easy to suspect that the statement was ultimately about reputational self-preservation. The Celtic Manor Resort was (rightly or wrongly) criticised following the Ryder Cup when that particular 'opportunity' failed to deliver any obvious benefits to Newport. By voicing their concerns in advance of NATO, they can legitimately holds their hands up after the event and say 'Not our fault. You were warned.'
First Minister Carwyn Jones immediately responded to the Celtic Manor by saying 'Welsh and UK ministers are constantly discussing events they want to hold around the Nato summit in Newport.' With less than 100 days, I don't think we can expect too much from these discussions.
And what about Newport Council? Remember, it was our councillors who were first to rush en masse to announce what a great opportunity NATO presented. Surely they haven't been sitting on their hands?
Unfortunately, it would appear they have (quelle surprise). Council Leader Bob Bright was quoted in The South Wales Argus as late as 9th June as saying, “Officers have been tasked with researching the economic benefits/promotional opportunities of other Nato summits held in major cities elsewhere and with producing an associated PR and marketing strategy that will guide the authority’s promotional activities between now and the summit in September." With less than three months to go, this is far too late in the day to be doing research. Actual plans should already be well developed. Remember, the basic premise has always been about promoting Newport TO THE WORLD. You can't do that in the last week or even the last month before the Summit. It should be happening NOW! In the second great irony, it has been the protesters who have pounced quickest to spread the news of the NATO Summit in Newport.
The third great irony is; that it will be the protesters themselves that offer the greatest opportunity, certainly for local businesses. The world leaders and their assembled entourage won't be spending their hard earned pennies in shops, pubs and restaurants, and most of the attendant media cloud will no doubt camp in Cardiff. The only people guaranteed to descend on Newport itself will be the protesters. They won't be allowed anywhere near the Celtic Manor, so Newport city centre will be where they do their thing, and they will all need to be fed, watered and accommodated. There have already been protest events in the city, so they've started to drip money into the local economy. Of course any money brought in needs to be offset against the cost of policing the protesters, but still, some local business will certainly benefit.
So what is this blog really about? Quite simply, it's about the speed and tedious predictability with which local politicians rush to issue knee-jerk sound bytes without thinking first or without doing basic research to back up their statements. And it's not just politicians. Several local businesses also rushed to gush about how wonderful the NATO Summit would be for Newport. It remains to be seen what actually happens between now and the day NATO rolls out of Newport, but it's my bet that the Summit will deliver little in the way of actual benefit and instead carries a sizable financial and social cost for the city.
Once it's all over and the dust has settled, it will be worth revisiting some of the people who rushed to gush about 'opportunity' and ask where they think they got it wrong. If the Summit goes well and delivers great benefit for Newport, I will, as a cynic from the start, hold my hands up and say I got it wrong. But at least I will have based my prediction on basic research of previous events. Can the politicians say the same?
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