EVENTS
SHOWMANSHIP, SECURITY
AND A STRAY SQUIRREL
Vaper Expo UK bristled with surprises for its first show of 2017
There are two things I had not been
expecting to see at the first of this year’s
two Vaper Expo UK shows…a squirrel in
the atrium outside the exhibition halls and
armed police inside the exhibition halls.
The squirrel was searching for scraps
of food dropped by visitors to the NEC
while the armed police were looking for
terrorists who might choose to kill visitors
at a UK vaping event.
Even as late as last October when I
attended ‘Vaper Expo UK - The Return’
the idea that anyone might want to
detonate a bomb at a vaping event
seemed preposterous.
However The Big Weekend’s opening day
was just four days after the Manchester
Terror attack when children were targeted
by a suicide bomber as they left a concert
by American singer Araina Grande.
The attack sent shockwaves throughout
the UK and the world, the government
raised the terror threat warning to critical
and, as a result, armed police were
deployed at a number of high profile
public events including Vaper Expo.
122 ISSUE 11 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE
With press accreditation I was one of the
first to enter the exhibition hall and was
asked to submit my bag to examination
by one of the security team on duty at
the NEC.
“I am really sorry to have to ask you to
do this,” explained the security guard. “I
really wish this wasn’t necessary but you
can understand why it is.”
There were also many more security
personnel on duty than at any other
Vaper Expo I had attended. Gone are
the days when they were there simply to
stop people trying to sneak in without a
pass - now they were looking for people
behaving suspiciously as well, people
with murderous intent. These are sad
times indeed in which we live.
So what of The Big Weekend itself? Was
the vibe more muted and somewhat
sombre because of the security threat?
Not a bit of it. Not even for a moment. The
unique atmosphere which is Vaper Expo
was totally undiminished.