“The job of policing is to make sure that everybody has a good time” – Deputy PCC for Gloucestershire Nick Evans on the Cheltenham Festival

Nick Evans, deputy PCC for the Gloucestershire Police, shared how officers prepare for the busiest week of the year in Cheltenham.

The Festival runs for four days every year in March, with 28 races in total and almost a quarter of a million people coming into town.

“Well, there are a number of shift patterns that run throughout the festival weeks. So officers will usually be on duty for their usual eight hours, assuming that something terrible doesn’t happen, when they might get kept on. But they’ll be given individual tasks to do, so they’re able to focus specifically on one role,” said Evans.

While there are so many tourists during the week, officers can’t forget about Cheltenham locals. Evans mentioned how maintaining order is the top priority, so everyone can enjoy themselves.

“The job of policing is to make sure that everybody has a good time, and a safe time. And that’s not just the visitors. That’s also residents who are here in the city, in the town as well. So the main focus around that is both public order. You know, making sure that people don’t end up fighting in the streets.

“But it’s also cracking down on anti-social behaviour. In years gone by, we have seen some disgusting scenes of people relieving themselves in parks and the lakes. So we have been working for a number of years now, both with Cheltenham Borough Council and with the racecourse to try to provide as many opportunities for people to not be caught short in the town’s lovely parks.”

Evans remarks on how much work goes on a year in advance to prepare for the Festival, and says most people would be surprised by it.

“It’s absolutely the amount of planning that goes on behind the scenes. I think that if you come along, you might see some officers on patrol around the environments of the course. For example, you might see some of the armed officers at the main entrance as people are first coming in.”

The number of people who come into Cheltenham is massive; the Festival is the biggest multi-day event in the UK, surpassing the British GP or any rugby tournament.

“There are hundreds of thousands of people coming into little old Gloucestershire who don’t necessarily realise just how enormous it is. I think I’m right in saying that little old Gloucestershire airport becomes the second busiest airport in the country in terms of movements after Heathrow during festival week.

“Not just the private jets coming into land, but also the helicopters that are ferrying spectators and jockeys from the airport into the racecourse and back out again. So the airspace in the area is incredibly congested,” said Evans.

While it’s a tough job, police officers are more than happy to assist during the races, one of the main reasons why it’s so popular and we have so many return spectators.