Case Study: F1 Exhibition, ExCeL London

ExCeL London | 2024–2025

The Project

We supported the F1 Exhibition at ExCeL London, delivering high-energy, professional staff for a fast-paced, interactive visitor experience unlike anything else on the exhibition circuit. Where many exhibitions ask visitors to walk, look, and move on, the F1 Exhibition asked them to get involved: racing simulators, immersive photo opportunities, interactive pit wall displays, and gallery spaces packed with detail all competed for attention, often at the same time and often with queues to match.

That mix of scale and hands-on interactivity created a very different challenge to a typical exhibition. Rather than simply directing visitors from one gallery to the next, staff were often running the attraction itself, operating equipment, managing queues at popular interactive points, and keeping the pace of the experience moving during busy periods. The client needed a team that could manage the flow of visitors through the space while also running the interactive elements themselves, maintaining energy and professionalism across long operating days without either slipping as the hours wore on.

Formula 1 - Envisage Immersive Exhibition

Our Approach

Staffing numbers flexed with visitor levels throughout the run, with teams covering a wide and varied range of roles to support every part of the exhibition. Staff operated the racing simulators, managed green screen photo opportunities, assisted at entrances and ticket checks, and distributed audio guides to help visitors navigate the experience at their own pace. Additional team members supported the pit wall display, managed a second photo opportunity point, oversaw photo collections, and guided visitors through the gallery spaces.

Break cover staff were built into the schedule throughout, ensuring the team stayed fresh and energised rather than flagging over the course of a long operating day, a small detail, but one that matters when the whole exhibition depends on staff maintaining energy from opening to close.

Each team member was carefully trained to be approachable, knowledgeable, and confident in front of guests. Staff played a genuinely active role in the visitor experience, whether that meant talking someone through the simulators, helping capture the right photo moment, or explaining the story behind a gallery exhibit. It wasn’t enough for staff to simply be present; they needed to actively contribute to the energy of the space. By maintaining that level of enthusiasm and a consistently welcoming attitude, our staff helped create a seamless, engaging environment where visitors could properly immerse themselves in the experience, rather than just pass through it.

Delivery at Scale

Delivering staffing for an exhibition of this size and complexity required careful planning and tight organisation, particularly given how many distinct roles needed covering at any one time. Across the full run, we delivered:

* 12,805 staffing hours
* 1,104 shifts completed
* 99.18% attendance rate

That level of reliability meant every role from the simulators and photo points to gallery support and entrance management was consistently covered, whatever the day’s visitor numbers looked like. For an exhibition built around interactive elements, a single gap in staffing doesn’t just mean a quieter corner; it means a simulator standing idle or a queue building at a photo point. Maintaining coverage across 1,104 shifts at this attendance rate meant that it never became a recurring problem, and the exhibition could operate smoothly and efficiently throughout its run.

Scheduling had to account for the specific rhythm of this exhibition, too. Interactive attractions like racing simulators tend to draw uneven crowds throughout the day, with surges around weekends, school holidays, and peak afternoon slots. Rather than staffing to a flat average, we adjusted coverage to match these patterns, keeping wait times manageable at the busiest points without over-resourcing during quieter periods. Combined with a built-in break cover, this approach kept both the visitor experience and staff wellbeing consistent throughout the run.

Results and Outcomes

The exhibition ran smoothly from start to finish, supported by a dedicated team who understood the specific demands of a high-energy, interactive environment. By guiding visitors, actively supporting the interactive features, and maintaining a lively yet professional atmosphere throughout, our staff helped ensure every visitor left with a seamless and memorable experience.

From the adrenaline of the racing simulators to the immersive photo opportunities and detailed gallery displays, our staff played a genuinely central role in bringing the exhibition to life. This wasn’t background support; visitors interacted directly with our team at nearly every stage of their visit, which meant the quality, energy, and professionalism of our staff had a direct impact on how the exhibition was experienced.

For the client, that meant a staffing partner who could be trusted to handle both the operational complexity of a large, interactive exhibition and the guest-facing energy needed to bring it to life, shift after shift, for the full duration of the run. The result was an exhibition that felt dynamic, exciting, and unforgettable for everyone who visited and one the client could rely on to run smoothly regardless of how busy any given day became.