Conference and exhibition venues are in scope for Martyn's Law. Most will be Enhanced Tier by a significant margin.
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent in April 2025. Conference centres, exhibition halls and event venues with a qualifying capacity of 200 or more must comply before April 2027.
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01 / Which Tier
Purpose-built conference and exhibition venues almost always exceed the Enhanced Tier threshold significantly.
Dedicated conference centres, exhibition halls and event venues are designed from the outset to hold large numbers of people. The NEC in Birmingham, Excel London, the Scottish Event Campus, Manchester Central and similar venues have total capacities that are measured in thousands. The Enhanced Tier threshold of 800 is not a challenge for these premises: it is far below their operating capacity.
Smaller boutique conference venues, hotel conference suites and civic meeting facilities with a qualifying capacity of 200 to 799 will fall into Standard Tier. These venues require documented procedures and SIA registration. But for the sector as a whole, Enhanced Tier obligations are the norm.
The challenge for conference and exhibition venue operators is that the physical protective measures required by Enhanced Tier must be demonstrable when the SIA assesses the venue. A written procedure that describes what would happen is not sufficient. An active detection system that documents what actually happened is what the SIA will look for.
- Written evacuation and lockdown procedures
- Staff training on terrorist threat response
- Communication protocols for an attack scenario
- SIA registration
- All Standard Tier obligations
- Documented vulnerability assessment
- Designated responsible person
- Active physical protective measures
- Demonstrable monitoring for SIA assessment
02 / What Measures
Conference and exhibition venues host thousands of visitors from a wide range of organisations and countries. The security complexity is high.
Major conference and exhibition venues face a distinct security challenge compared to other venue types. Their visitors are not a consistent audience: they change with every event. An exhibition one week may attract general public; a trade show the next may involve government officials, international delegations or political figures. The threat profile shifts with the event calendar.
Most major venues already have extensive IP camera infrastructure covering exhibition halls, registration areas, loading bays, car parks and public concourse areas. The compliance question is whether those cameras are recording passively or detecting actively.
AI behaviour detection adds an active intelligence layer to that existing infrastructure. It monitors continuously across the entire camera network, regardless of which specific halls are in use or how many visitors are on site. Every anomaly is flagged in real time and logged. That log is the documented evidence of active monitoring that the SIA will assess under Enhanced Tier requirements.
Registration areas and badge control are high-risk points.
Conference registrations involve a temporary access control system that is rebuilt for every event. Detection near registration desks and badge checkpoints provides an active monitoring layer for the most vulnerable access control point in any conference environment.
Loading bays and service access are often inadequately monitored.
Exhibition venues have extensive service and loading areas that are regularly busy with contractors and exhibitors. Detection in these areas closes a significant gap in most existing monitoring arrangements.
Works on your existing camera estate without hardware replacement.
Archangel adds an AI detection layer on top of your existing IP camera network. No replacement infrastructure. No capital project. The route to Enhanced Tier compliance is a software deployment, not a building programme.
03 / How AI Behaviour Detection Helps
What Archangel detects in a conference and exhibition venue environment.
Loitering near registration, entrances and checkpoints
Pre-attack reconnaissance at large events typically involves extended observation near access control points. Detection flags individuals whose behaviour deviates from normal delegate arrival patterns.
Unattended items in public areas and exhibition halls
Bags, cases or items left unattended in exhibition halls, registration areas or corridor spaces are flagged immediately, giving security the time to assess before the surrounding area is affected.
Access anomalies in service and loading areas
Individuals in service corridors, loading bays or restricted backstage areas who are not behaving consistently with normal contractor or exhibitor activity are flagged for security review.
Crowd anomaly detection in public spaces
Unusual crowd gathering, sudden movement changes or obstruction in exhibition concourses or corridor spaces are detected in real time, creating an intervention window before situations escalate.
Tailgating through staff and VIP access routes
Conference venues have speaker prep rooms, VIP areas and media centres with controlled access. Detection flags individuals following authorised personnel through restricted access points.
Documented detection log for SIA compliance
Every alert, confirmed detection and security team response is logged automatically for each event. That log provides the documented evidence of active monitoring that Enhanced Tier compliance requires.
For the full guide to Martyn's Law, including what proportionate physical measures mean in practice, visit our main guide.
Read the full Martyn's Law guideUnderstand what Martyn's Law means for your venue.
Book a discovery call. We will assess your venue capacity, your existing camera infrastructure, and what active AI monitoring looks like across a conference or exhibition environment. Two months free means you can start before enforcement begins.
Two months free. No hardware. No commitment beyond the conversation.