Formula E’s return to London at the partly-indoor ExCeL Arena track is set to go ahead with a double-header in July after the planned 2020 race was lost to the pandemic.
Launching a new race in such an unusual location was already a challenging endeavour even before COVID, and the global crisis has added plenty more hurdles.
But organisers are hopeful there can be a degree of spectator attendance if they can maximise the outdoor areas of the docklands circuit.
The event in the eastern area of the UK’s capital city has a five-year contract to host the London E-Prix.
The ExCeL venue was being used as a National Health Service medical facility last year when it was originally due to hold its inaugural FE event.
The staging of the 2021 races has now been confirmed for the weekend of July 25/26 but it will not be officially known until just a few weeks prior to that precisely how many spectators ExCeL could accommodate.
Plans for the new venue have been ongoing throughout the pandemic period, with Formula E’s race hosting team conducting consistent dialogue with various parties including the safety advisory group from Newham council and the licensing body.
“It’s certainly not going to be the ‘all singing, all dancing’ full capacity that we had hoped for last year, because by its very nature it’s mostly an indoor venue” :: Oliver McCrudden
The Race understands that as per many other industries that there is no insurance scheme to underwrite risks to event organisers on cancellations.
This has made race planning enter a state of “quite a bit of prudence” according to one of the key organisers of the event.
Speaking exclusively to The Race about the countdown to the races in July, Formula E Operations’ cities development director Oliver McCrudden said he is “hopeful that fans will be able to attend”.
Formula E Operations is sitting in on meetings with the DCMS, the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, alongside a host of other sports bodies including the Football Association and the England & Wales Cricket Board, awaiting guidance for the plan to allow spectators back into sports venues.
FEO has had to put together three different plans of it would operate the venue for the races in July.
“Now we’re a little bit closer to understanding which one is going to go forward,” McCrudden told The Race.
“We know the event can take place but we’re going to wait to see a little bit more what happens after the 21st of June and what the guidance is from government.
“Once we get past the 21st of June we will see how we can develop it a bit more, go back to the licensing guys who are very understanding and say, ‘OK, we want to go to this further to where we’ve got to already, and can we do it?’
“It’s certainly not going to be the ‘all singing, all dancing’ full capacity that we had hoped for last year, because by its very nature it’s mostly an indoor venue.”
Fans have been allowed to return to some recent UK sporting events as a trial run ahead of potential changes after June 21. This is the date of what the UK government calls its ‘fourth step’, under which all legal limits on social contact could be removed.
But as a large part of the ExCeL Arena’s Formula E configuration is within one of the exhibition halls, McCrudden admitted that events such as football, rugby and cricket will be a “completely different beast to what we’re planning.”
“We’re actually looking at how we can maximise outdoor spectators and how we can look after that body population that will be out there,” he added.
“We’re going to be running up the event under a bubble to a certain extent, because we’ve got a travelling international cohort of people that are in the ecosystem.
“Therefore, it’s the only logical way to keep everybody safe and maintain the safety levels even after the 21st of June.”
Logistical and operational work for the long-term project of the London E-Prix at ExCeL Arena was given a boost recently when race infrastructure including concrete blocks and fencing was able to be stored at the venue.
This is the same equipment that was used for the Battersea Park races in 2015 and 2016 and was previously stored at a location in Leicestershire.
The Race understands that an initial plan to run a car at the ExCeL Arena ahead of the July races is currently unlikely to go ahead.
