RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW
All Images: © RHS, Luke MacGregor and Tim Sandall
Digging deep RHS Chelsea Flower Show’s deputy operations manager, Tay Murray-Webb, talks to Stand Out about changes to the horticultural event, the first autumnal show in 108 years
I
t looks like carnage out there,” says Tay Murray-Webb, deputy operations manager at RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Murray-Webb talks to Stand Out from the comfort of a warm cabin, as the society’s flagship flower show is stripped bare. Temporary structures are coming down, trackway is coming up, and copious cables are being ripped out. Murray-Webb keeps a watchful eye on the action. Despite working at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) for five years, this year was her first working on the illustrious RHS Chelsea Flower Show. “It’s nice to be back doing what you love, and it’s mad how you fall back into your old routine,” she continues. But that doesn’t mean it’s not been an “uphill struggle”.
DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE
Chelsea Flower Show 2020 was cancelled, and it was initially thought that the 2021 horticultural event could go ahead in May. However, it did not. A call was made, and the event was pushed back until September. It was the first autumnal Chelsea Flower Show in 108 years. “Leaves on the ground” made it a very different experience. “We’ve had a few bumps in the road,” Murray-Webb explains. “The COVID goal posts have been moving and so it’s been hard to plan when you don’t know where the winds are blowing.” She adds: “The venue has been helpful and accommodating and our suppliers have been great but even with amazing support it’s been a struggle.
“When we moved the show to September, lots of other shows had done the same; it was tricky getting bits of kit. We also had a tight schedule. Our build stayed the same, but our show ran for an extra day.”
OPERATIONAL CHANGES
Murray-Webb and the RHS Chelsea Flower Show team – Sarah Jerrold, operations manager, Jade Swain, project manager, Gemma Lake, show manager, and Mike Herbert and Bob Hudson, health and safety officers – had to think long and hard about how they could adapt the event and deliver a show that loyal audiences would love. However, it also had to tick a lot of COVID-safety measures. What could be done to make visitors feel safe? “We racked our brains out,” comments Murray-Webb. “Our structures had more ventilation and were open and airy, we removed catering structures and replaced them with an open-air food court and our show gardens could be viewed from three sides, rather than two.”
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