EVENT SAFETY
Images © Joshua Lawrence/Monkey Business Images/Dreamstime
Safety first A national review of SAGs, COVID-19, staff shortages, infrastructure issues and a greater focus on staff welfare. Event safety experts discuss the summer and the challenges faced you embark on a project, W hen working together towards one
goal, it’s good to know if you’re all on the same page. Most events professionals are happy to play the game if everyone is playing. Yet, people can be left deflated and frustrated if someone comes in at the end and says they want their ball back. Take, for example, last summer when BOATS 2020 was pulled at the last minute. British Marine, organiser of BOATS 2020, had been assured by Southampton City Council that the event was in complete compliance with UK Government guidelines. However, despite this, Southampton City Council made a last-minute decision and issued a directive after taking advice from its director of public health, who said that the event must be cancelled under Health Protection Regulations 2020. With just hours to go, BOATS 2020 was pulled. The
Sponsored by GL Events
council’s move was met with disbelief. It sent ripples through the sector and compounded the feelings of alreadynervous promoters and organisers. Twelve months on and those nerves have not waned. The Government has decided to extend the regulations, until March 24, 2022, giving local authorities in England the power to cancel non COVIDsecure events.
PART OF OUR LANGUAGE
According to event safety experts, many local authorities are entirely focused on public health and the concern is that if professionals only focus on COVID-19 and nothing else, accidents will happen. Sadly, Stand Out has heard of two accidents on event sites this summer, which probably would not have occurred if event teams were not overstretched. Safety professionals have commented
that events become inherently dangerous when planning and event delivery is rushed and so it is imperative that the event industry finds a way to work with COVID and the challenges it brings, especially as most believe that coronavirus will be around for some time. “COVID will be a part of our language, like Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM), and our suite of controls for years to come,” explained Jim Davey, managing director of Redwood Event Solutions. “But we will get significantly better at how we manage and understand the risks.”
REVIEW OF SAGS
The events industry has been severely impacted by COVID-19. Supply chain and staffing issues have been the biggest challenges. Brexit has resulted in a lack of skilled crew and labour, suppliers have sold inventory to keep their heads above water, skilled events professionals have moved on to other sectors, and vital infrastructure is “sat sterile being underused in car parks” across the country in vaccination and COVID testing centres. The knock-on effect has been immense, and it has left people feeling stretched and stressed out.
www.glevents.co.uk n 29
