Case Study: Gladiators Experience, NEC Birmingham

The Project

We were delighted to provide staffing support for the Gladiators Experience at the NEC Birmingham, covering the full run from late April through to early September 2026. This was an immersive event that let the public step into the Arena and take on the challenges they had watched on television for years, from Hang Tough and Duel to The Wall and the Eliminator. Families, groups of friends, and lifelong fans arrived ready to test their speed, strength, and nerve, expecting an experience that felt every bit as big as the show itself.

With high daily footfall, a physical environment, and shifts running to around 12 hours, the client needed a staffing partner who could bring energy and reliability in equal measure, day after day, over a twenty-week run. Our role was to supply people who could welcome guests, keep the queues moving, run the games with confidence and keep the atmosphere buzzing from the first session of the morning to the last of the evening.

Our Approach

We supplied two distinct teams, each with a different job. Our front-of-house team were the first and last impression of the Gladiators experience, welcoming guests on arrival, handling ticketing and waivers, staffing information points and keeping the site clean and presentable throughout the day. It’s a role that asks for warmth and organisation in equal measure, since a smooth arrival sets the tone for everything that follows.

Our games staff took on the more performance-led side of the operation. Working in referee-style event uniform, they ran the game zones directly; the brief was simple: be entertaining and high-energy enough to reflect the show itself. That meant explaining the rules, demonstrating gameplay, starting and controlling each session, guiding contenders through the activities and keeping the floor buzzing between groups, all while following the operational and safety procedures a physical activity like this demands.

Because the work was genuinely demanding, both physically and in terms of the standard expected, recruitment for this event was very thorough. We ran over 140 interviews as part of a tailored process to find staff who could sustain the energy across a 12 hour shift and hold that standard for twenty weeks straight, and every member of staff required a DBS check before starting on site. Both teams were fully briefed ahead of opening: front of house on the event overview, customer service standards and site processes and games staff on game mechanics, equipment and safety procedures alongside event specific hosting training. A weekly star of the week award helped keep spirits high across a long run, recognising the staff who brought that little bit extra to the floor.

Delivery at Scale

A twenty-week run through the summer brings its own challenges. Visitor numbers rose and fell across weekdays, weekends and school holidays, and the physical nature of the work meant rotas had to be planned with real care, so every shift was covered by people who were fresh, capable and genuinely enjoying themselves. We kept in regular contact with the client throughout, so that staffing could flex with demand without ever leaving a coverage gap.

Between 24th April and 6th September, we delivered:

• 27,667 staffing hours
• 2,893 shifts booked
• 98.94% attendance rate
• An average of 37 staff working each day

A 99% attendance rate sustained across nearly three thousand shifts and twenty weeks of physical, twelve-hour days is no small achievement. It meant the client never had to think twice about coverage; it was simply there, day after day, at the standard an event of this scale demanded.

Results

The Gladiators Experience ran successfully from opening weekend through to its final day, with guests welcomed, guided and entertained by a team that clearly enjoyed what they were doing. That enjoyment matters more than it might seem, because in an event built around fun and competition, the mood of the staff sets the mood of the floor. Our front of house team kept arrivals calm and organised, and our games staff gave contenders the kind of build-up, encouragement and atmosphere that made each turn on the course feel like a moment.

For the client, that meant a staffing partner they could rely on across a long and demanding season, with almost 27,700 hours delivered and no drop in standards from the first week to the last. For our team, it was one of those assignments people ask to go back to, and the pride they took in the work showed in the experience guests took home with them.

Beyond the numbers, the real measure of success was the reaction on the floor: happy contenders, smooth queues and an event that delivered exactly what its fans had been waiting for. That mix of scale, energy and genuine guest care is what we aim to bring to every project, and the Gladiators Experience stands as one of our clearest examples of it in action.