Reflecting on 20 years of The Emergency Services Show

When David Brown reflects on the journey of The Emergency Services Show, now in its twentieth year, he talks less about halls or visitor numbers and more about people and moments. He remembers joining Fire Magazine in 1988 and “falling in love with the industry,” discovering that trade publishing could physically bring together people who rarely crossed paths. It was at Fire Times that he met David Holden, and they launched Emergency Services Times together in 1999.  

After a while, they spotted a gap. Suppliers serving police, fire, and ambulance services were attending exhibitions focused on each emergency service individually, but there was a need for a space where they could all interact. Five years of publishing built a solid audience, but the world was changing. The 9/11 attacks, the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, large-scale flooding, and the 7/7 London bombings all highlighted how crucial multi-agency working had become. And then came a more unusual spark in the shape of a whale in the Thames. David remembers seeing the coverage of multiple agencies including police, fire and rescue services coming together in an attempt to rescue the whale and thinking, “They’re all my readers.” That incident, he says, was the “impetus to launch the show.” 

The first show was held in 2006 at the Royal Horticultural Halls and had 94 exhibitors and around 1,000 visitors. Choosing who should open a genuinely multi-agency event was challenging. The solution came from a chance conversation with Met Police family liaison officers, who suggested inviting a 7/7 survivor. Danny Biddle, who lost both his legs in the Edgware Road tube bombing, and is the most severely injured victim of the attacks to survive, agreed, after meeting David first to make sure the show was legitimate. 

David recalls the emotional impact of having Danny there vividly. “The equipment suppliers don’t ever see survivors. They sell the kit, but actually seeing someone whose kit they supply was a real eye-opener.” During a demonstration, a stretcher clicked open and Danny recognised the sound. “’That’s one of my nightmares… I’ve never known what that clicking was, and now you’ve shown me,’” David remembers him saying. “Virtually everyone was in tears and welling up.” It was a moment that captured the show’s purpose, which is connecting the people who make and supply equipment with the people who use the equipment to save lives and even those they save. 

In 2007, King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, praised The Emergency Services Show in a letter showing his support for the opportunity it gave agencies to “enhance their knowledge and understanding of of one another’s working practices and of the equipment and services available”. Growth continued as the show moved to Stoneleigh Park, though not without hiccups. A storm in 2012 forced evacuation of a marquee, “We lost half a day of trading… it was horrendous,” David remembers. The following year, the move to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, where the show is still held, proved to be transformative.

 “Suddenly holding the show at the leading exhibition venue in the UK meant the visitor numbers just absolutely exploded,” David recalls. Several founding exhibitors have stayed loyal because, in his words, “at the end of the day, we’ve delivered: the right audience, meaningful conversations, honest feedback on new kit.” 

Collaboration with the voluntary and charity sector was central from the start. “From day one, we got it absolutely right by introducing the Collaboration Zone,” David says. Charities and voluntary organisations like Mountain Rescue associations, St John’s Ambulance, and the British Red Cross were given a platform.  Since 2022, the show has given free stands to 157 different organisations.

“The industry cannot cope without the voluntary sector as they offer so much support. Why wouldn’t you give them a free stand space? Why wouldn’t you help them raise their profile? It just makes it a stronger team.” 

The show also became a space for learning. CPD-accredited seminars allow visitors to “listen, learn, and hopefully leave empowered that it’s been worth their while coming to the show.” Topics have evolved over time. “When we launched the show, mental health wasn’t really a topic. Now it’s probably the number one area of focus for the emergency services,” David notes. 

His personal experience volunteering with Surrey Fire and Rescue Service in the last three years has deepened his understanding of the pressures staff face. Acting as a casualty in training exercises, for example, he learned that “it’s one thing seeing a nice, shiny uniform on a coat hanger at the show, and another thing actually seeing it used while you’re waiting to be rescued in a derelict building full of smoke.”

That experience helps David to understand how having the opportunity to view products and interact with real users at the show can help procurement leads make better informed decisions.

Although The Emergency Services Show lasts two days, David sees it as part of a year-round conversation supported by Emergency Services Times and its webinars and podcast. “The magazine is a voice piece for the show. It keeps our finger on the pulse,” he says.  

The Emergency Tech Show launched in 2023, and reflects how quickly technology, from AI to body-worn cameras, is shaping operations. Partnership with Nineteen Group, who acquired the Emergency Services portfolio in 2019, has also allowed the show to create synergies with other exhibitions, including the International Security Expo and Fire Safety Event, while still keeping collaboration between the emergency services and their suppliers at the heart of the event. 

After 20 years, David hopes the show has left a clear legacy. “I hope the show has helped emergency services work together, and that we can be a part of that.” In a sector facing evolving risks and budget pressures, that focus on bringing the right people together and giving them space to talk remains, in his view, the most enduring achievement.

“The Emergency Services Show enables people, under one roof, in a secure manner, to talk about the problems they’ve got and what solutions there are out there. With learnings from the response to the ongoing Ukraine and Israel-Iran conflicts sure to make their way over to the UK, police, fire and ambulance services have to continue to come together to share knowledge.” 

The Emergency Services Show’s twentieth year is set to be a celebration of the interoperability and collaboration both Davids set out to foster right from the start. With the announcement of four new strategic themes, as well as new features and dozens of impactful seminars, ESS 2026 is not one to miss.  You can register your interest to attend and be part of the celebrations here.