| Q & A 04.15.08 4:39 PM |
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| GEP's Lauren Beegal Prepares for Pope's 46,000-Person Mass |
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GEP Washington's Lauren Beegal
Photo: Courtesy of GEP Washington |
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Pope Benedict XVI is on his way to Washington, sending local and national newspapers, news channels, and blogs into a flurry of coverage anticipating his every move. Arriving today, the pope will be traveling in a 30-person entourage, and the Archdiocese of Washington estimates his three-day visit will cost Catholic donors $3 million, according to The New York Times.
Lauren Beegal, operations manager of destination management and event planning company GEP Washington, signed on in the fall to pull together the 46,000-person Mass to be held on Thursday. With just a few days left, Beegal talked to us via email about memorizing traffic patterns and coping with a new venue.
Pope Benedict XVI’s public Mass is just days away. What are you working on now?
Right now, we are in the final round of planning meetings with everyone involved in Pope Benedict XVI’s visit, from security and production teams to church and city officials. We are running through every possible scenario and taking care of all the last-minute details.
How long have you been preparing for this event?
The Archdiocese of Washington selected GEP Washington in October to help plan a large-scale public Mass. After a few meetings, we quickly realized just how high-profile the event would be. In the beginning, we were hoping the Holy Father would be able to lead the Mass, but his attendance is not yet confirmed [due to his frail health].
What other events are taking place during his visit?
The Mass at Nationals Park is the largest public viewing opportunity during the pope's visit to D.C. Due to the overwhelming demand for tickets, which were distributed by the Archdiocese of Washington, other viewing opportunities, such as the parade [on Wednesday] from the White House, will give the public a chance to see the pope in the [bullet-proof, glass-enclosed] Popemobile.
What are the toughest challenges?
Planning an event in a brand-new venue like Nationals Park proved to be one of the bigger challenges. We measured to plot one particular confessional tent at least five times because new construction caused us to move its location in the stadium on numerous occasions. One week, we measured to put the tent in a certain area and when we came back, a wall was built in the middle of our suggested location. We had to constantly revisit the plans and the projected layout to make sure it was logistically feasible in the new construction.
Which government agencies are you working with, and in what capacity?
We have worked very closely with the U.S. Secret Service to ensure the pope’s safety while still creating an aesthetically pleasing and logistically sound environment for the public Mass at Nationals Park. We also worked with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to make sure they had the capability on Metro trains to accommodate the thousands of Mass-goers during weekday morning rush hour.
Unlike other area stadiums, Nationals Park offers few parking options, so we had to determine how many people would opt to take Metro and how many people would use other means of transportation. To get parishioners to take Metro, the transit authority created the “Mass Pass,” an all-day pass that doubles as a commemorative item, which will hopefully help streamline transportation.
How are you preparing for the crowd?
I have been studying transportation patterns at Nationals Park, especially on opening day when there were similar security measures because of the president’s planned visit. In terms of ingress, we plan to stagger shuttle buses from the two shuttle locations and have plenty of staff on site who will direct people to utilize every accessible entrance.
We have also partnered with Showcall to produce pre-Mass entertainment—including Denyce Graves and Plácido Domingo—to entice people to arrive at Nationals Park and get to their seats well before the 10 a.m. Mass.
—Danielle O'Steen
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Pope Benedict XVI
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