Exhibition News spoke to creative and events agency OneTwo, and their long-standing client, JSaRC – the Joint Security and Resilience Centre, part of the UK Home Office – about how they brought the CityWatch: Streets of Tomorrow experience to life.
The installation, centrepiece of this year’s Security & Policing exhibition, recently won the Prolific North Creative Award for Creative Technology, and with good reason. This immersive project combined layered storytelling, emerging tech and hands-on interaction to showcase how collaborative working can deliver something truly powerful.
The value of immersivity
Immersive experiences are often associated with entertainment or consumer marketing, but at Security & Policing, the objective is very different. This was a government event, attended by senior stakeholders, VVIPs, ministers and international delegations. The challenge: to present nine advanced security technologies in a format that was both engaging and policy-aligned.
By placing the 300m² installation at the far end of the exhibition hall and promoting it prominently across the venue, footfall was not only high – it carried visitors past every other exhibitor to get there. 2025 attracted 400+ exhibitors and a record number of 9,600+ Home Office approved attendees over three days from 75 countries.
Rather than static displays or brochure-led messaging, the experience offered context: real-world problems visualised through a cohesive narrative and hands-on tasks. Delegates weren’t just informed about the technology, they physically interacted with it.
“We’re not just displaying a product on a stand,” says Andy Ray, senior project manager at OneTwo. “We’re giving people the chance to experience something. It’s not a spectacle for the sake of it, it’s about meaningful interaction in a purpose-built environment.”
Creating the Immersive
The original creative brief focused on the security and surveillance of a transport and aviation hub – a recurring theme for many of the exhibiting suppliers. However, as with many government-led projects, priorities evolved. A shift in focus towards the Safer Streets policy, particularly knife crime and violence against women and girls, prompted a rethink.
The result was CityWatch: Streets of Tomorrow – a fictional agency and storyline set in 2030. Its immersive frontage presented a near-future street scene, filled with digital news billboards and advertisements, and interactive registration points, that acted as both a welcome to the experience and the start of the immersive environment.
Visitors entered as new recruits to CityWatch, registering at the futuristic front desk before being issued security lanyards and welcomed via scripted, actor-led video. From there, they progressed through two main environments. In the Control Room, they monitored simulated crime data, made real-time decisions, and interacted using touchscreens and digital feedback systems. The second space, a VR Simulation Room, brought the consequences of those decisions to life through video sequences, immersive surround sound and branching narrative paths.
The experience was designed with realism in mind with authentic audio environments and tactile props. Scenario-based problem-solving brought each supplier’s technology into sharp focus, not just as a tool, but as part of the story. With so many of the attendees being security professionals, ministers, and international delegations, attention to detail and relatable language was paramount. The team dedicated significant time to pre-production research to ensure the content felt grounded, credible, and technically sound.
“Software tools became interactive moments,” says Louise Jones, film producer at OneTwo, “Our biggest creative challenge was making sure every layer of tech supported the immersion – not distracted from it.”
She explains: “We’re always conscious that we’re working with real policies and priorities. Language, tone, even how information is delivered – all of that needs to feel credible. For this audience, authenticity is everything.”
The experience’s success lay in its narrative structure: visitors were given tasks that mirrored real-world scenarios, such as locating a missing young person, and tracking a county lines gang across a fictional city environment. Each step involved technology touchpoints, all framed as part of a larger mission, never as isolated product demos.
Collaboration
Strong collaboration between OneTwo and JSaRC has been central to the success of these installations since their partnership began in 2018. Over the years, that relationship has produced a series of immersive experiences including Operation Haystack, Destination: Churchill Station, and Incident at Sea: Live Immersive Response – each tailored to different policy themes and technologies.
But it’s more than familiarity, it’s an embedded understanding of how government-led projects operate: how policy steers decision-making, and how creative must be flexible enough to respond to changes, even late in delivery.
“The relationship we have with OneTwo is key,” says Imran Khan, project lead at JSaRC. “They understand how we work in government and that priorities shift. That flexibility is vital.”
Regular workshops with suppliers, joint planning sessions, and open feedback loops ensured that the installation stayed true to its strategic aims without losing creative ambition. Technologies were embedded with purpose, not simply added for show.
“It’s easy to get swept up in the visuals or tech,” says Ray, “but we always kept the policy and the audience in mind. The immersion only works if it serves the real message.”
Mission Accomplished
Over three days, CityWatch ran 40 times and hosted nearly 600 participants, including 5 abridged VIP tours. More than 90% of delegates rated the experience ‘excellent’ for engagement and relevance, with many citing a deeper understanding of the technologies and the broader security landscape.
But more than metrics or awards, the experience proved how immersive storytelling can support serious objectives. This wasn’t about theatricality or innovation for its own sake, it was about creating a credible space for complex conversations to take place.
“The experience was never just about impressive visuals,” says Khan. “It was about building an environment where people could meaningfully engage with the real-world challenges we’re trying to solve.”
“It was excellent to see how the various technologies came together to deliver Safer Streets for the public,” adds Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
CityWatch demonstrated that, when designed with clarity of purpose and trust in the process, immersive formats can do more than draw a crowd – they can reshape how people learn, engage, and reflect.
As appetite for this kind of experiential storytelling grows across sectors, OneTwo is continuing to explore new formats and delivery models, with more adaptable immersive packages set to launch later this year.
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