To ask whether you are aware of the NATO summit taking place in Wales in September?

[emsiewill]

If you live in South Wales you are probably aware that 82 of the world's leaders, including Obama will be at the NATO summit taking place at the Celtic Manor in Newport on 4 - 5 September.

If you aren't local, you probably aren't aware that this is the largest security operation ever undertaken in the UK. That steel fences have been erected around the Celtic Manor and all around Cardiff, already causing traffic chaos.

And that this is taking place a mile from my house, I am on the route of one of the "peaceful" protests, and, with the current conflicts taking place in Gaza, Iraq and Syria, I am shit scared that the summit will be targeted by militants of one persuasion or another, and I and my family and neighbours will be directly in the firing line.

So, if you are not local to me, have you heard about this summit?

OOOOMMMMMGGGGGG. The aircraft have been amazing. Seen so many aircraft today it has been amazing. 2 tornado on the school run it was so loud. I'm very excited by the air activity

What are you expecting the protestors to do, op?

Barry Island this afternoon!

It's going to be manic tomorrow !
My SIL who works near Cardiff castle has been asked to work at home .

We've had all kinds of aircraft fly over our house & dd walked home this evening due to traffic issues !

There are police everywhere , mounted , uniformed , plain clothed etc .... It seems the city is going into lockdown !!

My FB full of peoples pics and videos of helicopters and aircraft arriving.

I worked late and missed it all

Can hear aircraft again now tho

ThatBloodyWoman I'm hoping they do nothing but walk down my road shouting slogans. And if Saturday is anything to go by, then that will be what happens.

However you never know what might happen when you have protesters and police in large numbers. I haven't boarded anything up...thinking positive.

One of dh friends was up at Christchurch and said they had a great view of all of the aircraft coming & going. Wish I'd thought of that!

The summit was mentioned on the 10 o'clock news just now, but more about Obama being in the UK than any real discussion of the summit and local effects etc.

Hope you're right, and the protestors are allowed to peacefully protest emsie

I work in the city centre and was encouraged to take tomorrow and Friday off so did - so I did and am going to Burghley horse trials instead We had protesters at our building yesterday which resulted in being surrounded by armed police and snipers on the building opposite us, very exciting!

I've found the police to be great fun as they're so bored just stood around - they were trying to guess what we had in our lunch bags yesterday. They interviewer in me (part of my job) came out and there was some good banter with them. There's loads of them at the Mercure hotel and I noticed this afternoon they'd swapped the blue caps for proper police helmets - anything to do with the arrival of VIPs, I wonder?

One part of me thinks it's a brilliant opportunity for Newport and Wales. But we live and have a business in Cardiff City Centre and we have lost so much trade and the next 3 days will be worse. We have to work next 2 days and have no idea what to expect. Generally police have been friendly but it's a bit weird seeing them walk around with machine guns!

I live in central Cardiff, the same area the known and reported ISIS joiners are from.

I don't understand why people from Cardiff are hot for extremism. They city is pretty chilled out, in terms of skin colour, religion etc

well. Today's the day!
Getting ready to walk to school with the kids...teen is happy because his school day has been shortened to 10am-2pm.

Lots of varying opinions on the whole thing....do you think its a positive for Wales hosting it? Will all this publicity really do us any good in the long run?

All I hope is that it passes without incident and that the whole thing goes smoothly.

has there been some sort of news blackout about it, I can't find very much about the conference online?

I'm in Bristol and in the last few days there have been so many police vans driving around. Apparently some delegates may be in a Bristol hotels or landing at a bristol Airport. Good luck to anyone living locally and hope it all goes without incident.

Numpties that was really my point in starting this thread - the complete lack of knowledge about the summit outside the immediate locality.

Road closed signs going up round here. More businesses boarded up.

I got into work today in half the time I normally would. The A470 was completely free and hardly any traffic at all.

Taken a half day off to set off for the airport early this afternoon.

I'm just outside central Cardiff. walked to school as recommended. It was like a ghost town! Literally passed a handful of cars on my 3 mile walk!

I just saw on twitter that Obama is at Mountpleasant Primary in Newport. How exciting for them! Bet they were in at dawn putting the hoover round and buying new mugs for the staffroom!

I cycled in, decided to go through town and ended up walking a lot of the way as there was no thought for cyclists other than for them to cycle on pavements which I really don't like doing. Hmph.

In all of my news watching yesterday, in research for you emsie, they mentioned it once in passing. As in "and this will be discussed at the nato summit this week in wales (not newport)".

DH said Cardiff was empty except for Police.

They were reporting on Good Morning Britain from the Celtic Manor this morning.

What a fantastic once in a lifetime experience for the children at Mount Pleasant school this morning (and the teachers as well I guess!). Photo from the Argus attached.

Beyond thanks for doing the research. Bit more coverage last night & today. Nick Robinson of the BBC was spotted on the roof of someone's house in Rogerstone (where Mount Pleasant school is) this morning.

Wow - love that pic. I was trying to explain to My son (almost 4) why there was so much fencing. He didn't understand at all why people had to be separate from the president, not that he understands what a president is. I will show him this picture :)

here's another pic.

A lot of lovely pics here