Fixtures at an exhibition

In the long build-up to an exhibition like Hotelympia, the day before the opening is always the most fraught. Sunday was no exception. It's the key day to ensure all the stands are up and running, all exhibitors are in place, and all the services are operational. If they're not and we're not ready to open at 9.30am the next morning, then it's my head that rolls.

I was in Earls Court by 7.30am. The setting-up of the exhibition had begun five days before and by Sunday morning, nearly all the stands were in place.

I immediately went into a meeting with the rest of the team from Fresh RM, together with staff from Earls Court's event management and some contractors. We ran through the main pressure points that had to be dealt with that day - including a problem with the building of a particular stand and an exhibitor who hadn't turned up.

Until this point, all members of the Fresh RM team had had their particular areas of responsibility in planning Hotelympia - whether it was sales, marketing or administration. On Sunday we had to forget our usual roles and be ready and willing to muck in and go wherever help was needed.

The rest of the day was spent on a never-ending tour of Earls Court. Hotelympia 2000 is the biggest hospitality show ever held in the UK and we would struggle to squeeze in many more exhibitors.

It also has many complex features - for instance, a live theatre, salon display, the Garde d'Or Live Theatre and the working restaurant La Parade des Chefs. Luckily, I have salon director Peter Griffiths. He's very experienced and makes my job a lot easier - we touched base several times throughout the day. With so much cooking going on throughout the week, I also made contact with health and safety inspectors, contractors and the local authority.

Most of the exhibitors were on site between 10am and 3pm to dress and put the finishing touches to their stands, so there wasn't much time for lunch. We had sent out information to all exhibitors months earlier, giving them tips such as how to plan their exhibits. We even held seminars to advise companies on how they can maximise their investment in the show. But unfortunately the world doesn't revolve around Hotelympia and a few exhibitors who arrived on Sunday hadn't done their planning thoroughly enough.

As a result, there were several fraught scenes and I was shouted at more than once - but I didn't take it personally. It's my job to keep a cool head and to take people to one side to go through the problem and try to sort it out rationally. But there's no question that the most successful exhibitors will be the ones who have been most organised.

Most difficulties were dealt with quickly by our policy to SPOC (single point of contact) every stand. Members of my team were on the floor throughout the day, anticipating problems in advance or sorting them out as soon as any came to light. All of us were continually going round checking everyone was okay, informing them where the electricity should be switched on and pointing them in the direction of a cup of tea.

With more than 100 exhibitors from abroad, we had one or two minor crises concerning water and waste regulations, which are quite different in the UK from anywhere else - but nothing we couldn't cope with.

Later that afternoon, I ran through various events taking place during the week, including the visit by Chris Smith, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, to open the show on Monday; and the opening dinner for 500 guests and the New Product Awards at the Hotel Inter-Continental, Hyde Park Corner, the same evening. I also completed a last-minute edit of my opening speech.

By 7pm-ish, there was just the odd contractor and the security guards left as I and all members of the Fresh RM team stood around stuffing envelopes for the exhibitor welcome packs. There are still some things that just have to be done by hand.

By 8pm the team had retired to a nearby restaurant. For me, this was the chance to eat something proper for the first time that day - together with a glass of Champagne.

That was our first opportunity to look forward properly to the next five days, to make sense of the many months of planning. This really is the best job in the world.