EC&O Venues Earls Court And Olympia

Earls Court & Olympia Venues toasted a new chapter in Olympia’s impressive history as one of the world’s best known and best loved exhibition and conference venues when its redeveloped West Hall ‘topped out’ on Friday 9 September.

In a traditional topping out ceremony organised in conjunction with EC&O’s contractor, Sir Robert McAlpine, 120 guests, including local residents and politicians, subcontractors and consultants, celebrated a key stage in the enhancement works at Olympia, which are due to be completed by December 2011.

West Hall has been redeveloped within its existing footprint, into a two-storey 90,000 square feet exhibition facility by adding a floor - and creating links to the Grand Hall and Olympia 2 behind the restored façade. The work, which has been phased to allow the exhibition and conference business already operating at Olympia to continue throughout, is part of a £20 million investment in Olympia by EC&O’s parent company, Capital & Counties (Capco).

Nigel Nathan, Group Managing Director of EC&O Venues, ‘topped out’ West Hall  - a ceremony which involves laying a concrete plinth and then ‘floating’ – or smoothing off the area -  with the help of Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, Leader of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, in recognition of Olympia’s importance to the West London economy. The local Member of Parliament, Andy Slaughter MP, was also there to lend his support.

Nigel Nathan said: “Our vision for Olympia respects the fabric of this historic building whilst also making the internal space easier to access and more flexible for organisers to use.

“Of course, Olympia is not only a world class venue: it is also a local business employing local people. We are grateful for all the support and patience we have received from our neighbours during this construction phase. We are delighted that we are joined today by local residents, local councillors and by our local MP, who have all been consulted on our vision and have worked with us to ensure that the interests of Olympia and local people are aligned.

“We believe the investment will bring in business, new jobs, and continued prosperity for Hammersmith and Fulham, benefiting the whole of West London.”

Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh added:

“The Olympia Exhibition and Conference Centre generates income for local businesses, contributes to the West London economy and receives great support from the surrounding community. I am delighted to be here to celebrate this investment in a new and enhanced Olympia and pay tribute to local residents who have been so patient during the construction of West Hall.”

The proposals to upgrade Olympia will improve the flexibility of the space which will be capable of hosting a number of events simultaneously, whilst enhancing one of the UK’s best known venues. In the next stage of EC&O’s plans, Olympia 2 is being reconfigured to provide more efficient servicing arrangements and improved connectivity with the rest of the facility.

Douglas Emslie, Chairman of the Association of Event Organisers (AEO) and Group Managing Director of event organisers Tarsus Group plc, believes these enhancements will help stimulate the London event market.

He said: “The expansion of space at Olympia is a very positive step for the exhibition industry as it will help both large and small shows grow. Large shows will be able to get better utilisation and visitor flows while small shows will have more flexibility to expand.”

Nigel Nathan added: “This topping out ceremony for the West Hall - an important landmark in the delivery of this project - is a nod to tradition. But it is also marks Olympia’s progress and celebrates its exciting future.”

ENDS

Enquiries:

Edelman  Tel:  020 3047 2091
Sarah Richardson

EC&O Venues Tel:  020 7370 8540
Anna Golden 

Capital & Counties Properties PLC Tel:   020 3214 9178
Jennifer See Squire
 

Notes to editors:

About Olympia
The plans for Olympia include redeveloping the West Hall within its existing footprint, behind the existing brick façade along Blythe Road which will be restored, adding a floor and creating links to the Grand Hall and Olympia 2.  The Hall is designed to be used in conjunction with other spaces or independently and the design is sympathetic to the spectacular fan window of the Grand Hall.  It incorporates a visitor entrance on Blythe Road bringing animation to the street frontage.  The plans also improve pedestrian access around the building and provide opportunities to enhance the public realm.

By using the majority of the ground floor of Olympia 2 for servicing and delivery vehicles, rather than exhibition space, it will create a larger traffic marshalling area within the site.  This will bring vehicles into the building, providing more efficient servicing arrangements. It will also ease traffic on the surrounding roads.
 
London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham resolved to grant planning consent for Olympia’s redevelopment proposals on 13 October 2010. 

The works began in early 2011 and are due to be completed in December 2011. The work has been phased to allow the exhibition and conference business already operating at Olympia to continue throughout.  The cost of these works were included within the previously announced £20 million of capital allocated to Olympia and will be funded from existing Capco cash resources.
 

About the Topping Out Ceremony

In building construction, topping out is a ceremony held when the last beam is placed at the top of a building. The term may also refer to the overall completion of the building's structure, or an intermediate point, such as when the roof is dried in. A topping out ceremony is usually held to commemorate the event. All tradesman on the job usually join in the celebration as well as the supervisors, representatives of the architecture and engineering firms, the owner or representatives of the owning organisation and any VIPs that are invited.

At the Olympia Topping out ceremony, which was accompanied by the sound of a piper, Nigel Nathan, Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh and Sir Robert McAlpine Works Manager Owen Gallagher congregated around the ceremonial area on the upper floor of the West Hall.  Two site men came forward with a skip containing an appropriate amount of concrete which will then be placed in a plinth box on the slab.  The Works Manager handed shovels to Cllr Greenhalgh and Nigel Nathan who proceeded to move the concrete around the box.  On completion Owen exchanged the shovels for floats and the gentlemen floated (smoothed off) off the area.

Owen Gallagher then nailed up of the evergreen bough (on an adjacent steel column) – an act which is meant to symbolise growth and bring luck.

Owen then returned to Nigel Nathan and makes the following demand: “Sir, in recognition of a job well done I demand my noggin of ale.” Nigel Nathan acceded to the demand. Tankards filled with beer were then offered to the participants. Further engraved tankards were presented to the Works Manager, Nigel Nathan and client representatives from Capco as a memento of the occasion.

About Capital & Counties Properties PLC (Capco)

CAPCO is one of the largest investment and development property companies that specialises in central London real estate and is a constituent of the FTSE-250 Index. CAPCO holds 3.2 million square feet of assets valued at £1.5 billion (30 June  2011) in three landmark London estates: Covent Garden, which has assets valued at £780 million, including the historic Market Building; Earls Court & Olympia Group and 50% of the Empress State building in Earls Court amounting to aggregate property assets of £488 million; and the Great Capital Partnership, a joint venture with Great Portland Estates, which holds prime West End properties of which Capco’s share is £240 million. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the JSE, Johannesburg.