In July 2023, we received the opportunity to provide our F&B services at one of the largest sports events happening for the first time in India, Moto GP Bharat 2023. With confidence in our hearts, we went for it, and little did we know this event would provide us with endless opportunities and cherishing memories.
We conducted site visits and honed our pitch throughout August. It was our first time executing a racing event on such a massive scale. For some team members, it was their first-ever event.
September arrived, and our enthusiasm and excitement grew. The team from Bangalore had planned to arrive on a specific date, but due to the G20 summit happening in Delhi, many flights were delayed and canceled. Fortunately, we had foreseen this and booked tickets accordingly.
We kicked off our work with high spirits.
We were responsible for handling three different aspects: First, we had to provide hospitality in the VIP lounges and for premium ticket holders. Second, we curated 13 food stalls for the general public, and third, we managed the entire beverage section, which included alcohol, water supply, and soft drinks. Apart from these three key responsibilities, we were also in charge of three fan zones, each accommodating approximately 5000 people.
We initially started from scratch with a team of 20 people led by Shriya and Nivedan. We soon realized there was a long way to go, and extensive planning was necessary. We allocated responsibilities to everyone.
Shriya and Nivedan, being at the forefront of this project, handled the hospitality and beverage sections respectively.
A week before the event, we had completely planned everything; however, the ticket numbers for the event increased at the last minute, and we had to rework everything from scratch.
The clock was ticking, and a lot of execution was left before the event. It was the most sensitive moment anyone could ever witness in their life.
Another challenge was getting the vendors ready within 24 hours, which was not easy, considering we had to cater to more than 65000 people across the span of 3 days. Obtaining the alcohol license was also a challenging task, as UP has certain restrictions for selling alcohol licenses.
However, the team came together, giving their all—sweat, blood, and tears, quite literally. We pulled all-nighters and managed to finalize everything before the event
One major highlight of the event was catering to the VVIPs, including personalities such as John Abraham and Ranveer Singh. We had to be diligent about even the tiniest of things.
We had planned the food setup around the theme of racing. From race-themed toothpicks to exclusive European cuisines specially crafted for our Intenational guests – the team wholeheartedly curated the menu.
We partnered with multiple renowned brands including-
· Dominos – served their sumptuous pizzas
· Wow Momos – served juicy & succulent varieties of momos
· Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters – a recently emerged brand for fresh coffee
· Starbucks India – world’s largest coffee chain exquisitely known for their premium coffee
· Lunch Box – catered their delightful meals
· Ovenstory – served juicy & delicious pizzas
· Boss Burger – a renowned brand known for their loaded burgers
· Biryani Blues – known for their quality biryanis
and many more acclaimed brands.
The food was greatly appreciated by everyone on all three days and formed an integral part of a successful event.
All this while, we all had just one thought—we made a commitment, and we needed to fulfill it, and we did!
Each one of us wore multiple hats, worked for 20 hours a day to make this event happen. We had multiple discussions, sleepless nights, we laughed, helped each other, and some of us even cried, but none of us gave up.
We shared heartfelt moments with each other, and now we can proudly say we can handle any event if we are together.
The team brilliantly came through and made this event a huge success for SmartQ. Each one of us played a pivotal role in making this event happen.
These kinds of events provide lifelong learnings, amazing stories, and fantastic connections.
The leadership of Hardhik and Rakesh was commendable. They worked silently, always encouraged the team, and kept the flow going.
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the two key pillars of this event—Shriya, Nivedan—who flawlessly took care of the minute details and handled the team.
A wholehearted thanks to Kiran, Rishabh Gupta, Vinay Rajput, Ankit Sharma, Ronit Chatterjee, Gopal, Shabbir Kapdawala, Sourav Dey, Kewal, Prajwal, Rishabh Kumar, Ankit Singh, Clive, Suraj, Paul Prabhakar, Rohit Kumar, Ashwin Arawind, Atharva, Harshit R, Hozefa, Harshit Singh, and Khushboo for being an integral part of this event and making it a huge success.
We did this event—the SmartQ Way—wholeheartedly!