The NATO Summit kicked off at Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales yesterday and continues today (5th September). Chief Operating Officer Ian Edwards believes the major event could provide a springboard for securing more major events in Wales.
It has been 24 years since the UK last hosted a Nato Summit back in 1990. 60 world leaders are in attendance at the two-day event, including US president Barack Obama. 28 representatives for each of the 28 Nato member countries are present and 9,500 police officers from forces across England and Wales are on duty as part of a major security operation.
800 Celtic Manor staff are working on the event with 10,000 support staff having been involved in the event.
Ian Edwards commented: "We're delighted to have been given this opportunity to host such an important summit and to welcome so many of the world's most influential leaders to the Celtic Manor Resort.
"To give you an idea of the scale of the operation, our head of event management, Leon Hughes, would normally look after around 20 big conferences and events during a year. This year he has been taken off all other events to concentrate solely on the NATO Summit because of the level of detail required.
"The really important thing about hosting the summit is the opportunity it gives Celtic Manor, Newport and Wales to be on the world stage and show that they can pull together an event of this magnitude. It’s no secret that we have ambitions here at Celtic Manor to build a new Wales International Convention Centre and we want the NATO Summit to act as a springboard for securing more major events in Wales."
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