SAFETY REPORT
AN EVALUATION
OF EXPERIENCES AND NEW RISKS WITH A PREVIEW OF TRENDS AND chances FOR THE FESTIVAL INDUSTRY
Content
The 3F Safety Report was developed by the management team of the YES Group (YOUROPE Event Safety Group) on behalf of YOUROPE – The European Festival Association. This report is a publication within YOUROPE’s three-year project „Future-Fit Festivals“ (3F), co-funded by the European Union.
Content:
Coralie Berael
Henrik Bondo-Nielsen Sabine Funk
Roxana Luca Morten Therkildsen Pascal Viot
Alexandra von Samson
Ralf Zimme
Editing:
Alexandra von Samson
Design:
Anastasia Bulyukina
Contributors:
Members of the YOUROPE and YES Group networks
YOUROPE e.V.
The European Festival Association Auguststr. 18 | 53229 Bonn | Germany www.yourope.org
3F – Future-Fit Festivals project lead: KME Karlsruhe Marketing und Event GmbH
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Introduction A word from the YES Group
THE SURVEYS
How did the Challenges and Plannings Change
The Risk Assessment before the Event Assessment of the Event itself
Focus Topics in the Planning
The Major Challenges
WEATHER PHENOMENA
Background Overview Building Up Resilience Best Practice why document
Learning from Disasters and from Each Other Documentation as the Backbone Concerns What does it mean?
New Threats
Emerging Challenges
Navigating The New Challenges How To Handle New Threats?
SPOTLIGHT ON THE SURVEY The Dangers of Handing Out Accreditations
Crowd Safety The Change in Approach Summary of the New Approach
INTRODUCTION
The return of festivals and live events in the “Post Pandemic World” brought a wave of enthusiasm, happiness, and good vibes that was palpable across every event. After years of uncertainty and disruption, there was a collective sense of readiness and excitement to return to the “new normal”. With a deep sense of relief and eager to reconnect, both attendees and organisers echoing the sentiment: "We're back!"
This collective excitement with its remarkable surge of energy left a lasting impression, showing that despite the challenges, the heart and soul of festivals remain vibrant and full of life. It also highlighted how important events are for bringing people together.
However, alongside this collective excitement came a range of challenges that festival organisers, staff, and attendees had to navigate, many of which were both expected and unexpected.
Photo: Holger Jan Schmidt
Photo: Santiago Perie
Two of the first European post pandemic Festivals: Rock Am Ring (above), Primavera Sound (below)
One of the primary issues in the first post pandemic year (2022) was the overwhelming workload that left teams feeling exhausted and constantly operating on the edge. Staffing shortages, inexperienced or out-of-hand teams, and the unpredictable behaviour of a new generation of festival-goers, while full of energy, but inexperienced and chaotic, lead to significant operational challenges. Ensuring the safety and security of these large gatherings has required extraordinary effort, often stretching festival resources to their limits. Sometimes leadingtofrustrationamongbothstaffandattendees.
In addition to those challenges, extreme weather conditions created another significant hurdle. Extreme heat or other severe weather conditions such as heavy thunderstormsduringmanyeventspushedbothstaffandattendeestotheirlimits.
As the festival landscape continues to evolve, constant recalibration is necessary to adapt to the “new normal”. Including the shift to the new generation, audience as well as staff, changing crowd expectations behaviour, logistical complexities and risingextremeweatherphenomena.
The “old but new” factor, the new focus on terrorist threats in some European countries, require a close co-operation with the local safety authorities. Successfully managing these factors will require innovative approaches, careful risk management, and a proactive response to both operational and behavioural changesinthefestivalenvironment.
Photo: Jaroslav Nov·k/TASR/dpa/picture alliance | Extreme weather event
at Pohoda Festival 2024
Photo: unsplash.com
As technology evolves with multiple channels and ways people access information, media coverage becomes harder to track. And the question rises on sources and which ones to trust. For this report, ChatGPT was partly used as an analytical tool to supplement traditional research. Comparing industry insights, festival representatives testimonials, and media reports, it was found that online and offline information can be contradictory. For example, ChatGPT flagged crowd control issues at Roskilde Festival, which seemed to be a typical problem festivals have had this summer. But with a closer inspection, it was revealed that neither Roskilde had severe crowd management issues nor was it a general problem throughout European festivals this summer. That situation highlighted a general topic that media reports, wether online or offline, are not necessarily representing the truth or the entireinformationonthetopicfrombehindthescenes.
In this report the YOUROPE EVENT SAFETY Group aimes to give an overview on the focus and topic changes in safety & security as well as health & safety regarding the landscape of organising festivals. Therefore, a survey was sent to the YOUROPE partners and their safety & security specialists and the results will be addressed here. Out of the various topics which kept organisers and planners busy a closer look wastakenonthreefocustopics:
The Surveys
During the project period three surveys were conducted – each one at the end of the annual festival season.
From 2022 to 2024, the festivals moved from a post-pandemic recovery phase toward a more complex yet stable atmosphere. The energy and “comeback” driven excitement of 2023 shifted toward calm and smooth operations in 2024, but the global and financial challenges grew.
How did the challenges and plannings change in the Post Pandemic Years
During the last three years, organisers and their teams demonstrated increasing adaptability and professionalism, yet staff exhaustion and external factors like weather and incidents worldwide continued and still is continue to impact the festival experience.
When analysing the main three keywords describing the festivals in 2022 and 2023 the change is clearly visible. More enthusiastic terms as “return to normal” found their way into the answers.
Pictures: What 3 words do you think describe the festivals season best
A deeper look into 2024
The results in the graphic below show an overview of participants' initial reactions to the 2024 festival season using the same Mentimeter tool. 108 festival organiser respondents shared their feedback by listing three words that came to mind when thinking of this year's festival edition. And the shift even from 2023 to 2024 getsobvious.
The “Post-Pandemic Festival Seasons” show a remarkable surge of energy, amplified by the positive, community experiences characterising the festivals. This collective excitement left a lasting impression, showing that despite the challenges, the heart and soul of festivalsremainedvibrantandfulloflife.Thenewgenerationoffestivalgoersarejoiningtoday’sevents,areachallengethemselves,whilefullof energy and lacking experience. Sometimes contributing to less unpredictablecontexts.
For example, in 2023, a ruckus at a Travis Scott concert held in Rome’s ancient Circus Maximus resulted in around 60 people needing medical treatment and a 14-year-old being hospitalised after fallingfrom4mheightafterattemptingto eludesecuritytowatchtheshow.
Source: www.euronews.com
Picture: What 3 words do you think describe the festivals season best
The frequently used terms in the YES Group survey show thatthe2024festivalseasoncanbecategorisedintoseveral main themes:
Challenges:
Exhausting:
Several organisers mentioned the physically and mentally drainingnatureofthefestivals,reflectinglongworkinghours and high stress levels, likely due to operational pressures andunexpectedobstacles.
For instance, Tomorrowland festival (Belgium) has experienced problems related to the global computer outage that took place on Friday, 19th July 2024, affecting multiple industries worldwide. Top-up issues, artist transportation and multiple questions had to be treated intensely both on-site and online amongfestival-goers.
Source: www.brusselstimes.com
ExtremeWeather:
The unpredictable and often severe weather conditions (e.g., heat waves, storms) were noted by many, indicating that this was a significant factor affecting both the staff and theattendees.
Worldwide: Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in Rio de Janeiro saw a tragic incident where a 23-year-old fan died from heatstroke amid 39°C heat and water restrictions. Similarly, Coachella in the US faced numerous heat-related medical emergencies due to extreme temperatures. Burning Man, held in Nevada’s desert, experienced flooding and dust storms, leading to chaos, injuries, and medical issues. In Milwaukee, Summerfest had a stage banner fall due to high winds, resultingininjuriestoseveralattendees.
Europe: Medusa Festival (Spain) had strong winds that caused a stale collapse, killing one person and injuring 40 in 2022.
Source: edition.cnn.com
RisingCosts:Increasedcostsofproductionwereamajor concern, reflecting the financial strain experienced by organisers due to inflation and higher material/logistic expenses.
Cancellations: Some festivals faced event or performance cancellations, most likely due to logistical issuesorweather-relatedfactors.
Pohoda festival was cancelled after one of its large tents collapsed due to a severe storm, injuring 29 festivalgoers,whilein2023heavyrains led to dangerous mudslides, injuries and prompting evacuationatWackenOpenAir Festival(Germany)
Source: www.theguardian.com
Source: www.iq-mag.net
CrowdManagementandSafetyConcerns:Words like "crowd incident" and "security" were mentioned, pointing to difficulties in handling large crowds, especially duringpeaktimesorpopularperformances.
There was a crowd collapse at Boardmasters Music Festival (August 2024, UK), creating a dominoeffect.
Source: www.voicenewspapers.co.uk
In Roskilde Festival, Denmark, multiple injuries were reported due to massive mosh pits, exacerbating concerns over crowd control at large festivals. But please see the comment above in mind regarding not properlyresearchedarticles.
Source: www.messedmag.com
Multiple incidents of crown congestionoccurrednearthemain stages at Glastonbury Festival (UK).
Source: www.somersetlive.co.uk orNottingHillCarnival,too.
Source: www.policeoracle.com
An incident with a drone prompted GreenDayinSeptember
Source: eu.detroitnews.com toberushedfromthestagejust20 minutes into their concert at ComericaPark(Detroit,US),
Source: www.policeoracle.com
while Lollapalooza in Chicago (US) had a drone incursion interrupting performances, causing a brief evacuationassecurityinvestigated the situation and coming with severe public information on permissions
Source: www.policeoracle.com
Operational Issues:
HighWorkLoad:
The intensity of workload on staff andvolunteerswasandstillisamain topic. Words like "busy" and "high load" indicate that festivals lead to operational strain. Even if the overwhelming workload of the 2022 and 2023 decreased, the exacerbated situation with inexperienced staff and shortage of personnel still caused difficulties for smoothoperations.
Communication:
A few respondents raised concerns about communication issues, hinting at possible lapses in internal coordination between festival teamsorwithexternalparties.
Emerging Concerns: Drugs:
"Drugs" were mentioned by some people as a potential issue during the festivals, indicating concerns about substance use among attendees. Crossing borders to attendnightlifeeventsormusicfestivalsiscommonindifferentpartsofEurope.
For example, information provided by the French national focal point indicates that, because of longer operating hours, less rigorous enforcement of age restrictions and, sometimes, even cheaper drugs available in the neighbouring countries are a cause oftravelanddruguseinEurope.
Source: www.euda.europa.eu
MisuseofCredentials:
The reference to misuse of credentials indicates some concerns around security breaches or improper access management for staff and attendees, highlighting a needfortightercontrolsoradifferentapproachtotheuseofcredentials.
Seesomecloserinsightsintothistopiconpage52.
The positive aspects
Not just everything was bad or negative, as it can be seen in the results ofthesurvey.Positivismfounditswaybackintotheindustry.
Success and Positive Impressions
Success:
Despite the aforementioned obstacles, there were several instances where respondents celebrated the overall success of the event in 2024. Some answers described the experiences even as "colourful" and "historic",indicatingasenseofuniquenessandspecialmoments.
On crowd management, here are examples of communities led by artists, such as Korn who paused their set at Louder than Life Festival (US) after a fan was injured in the crowd, telling their audience that theywillnotbeplayinguntileveryone issafe
Source: loudwire.com
FantasticandImpressive:
A significant number of respondents viewed their festivals successful. The terms reflect the ability to deliver impressive performances and memorable experiences fortheattendees.
Fun:
Many participants still highlighted the enjoyable atmosphere of the festivals, indicating the return of positiveness into the festivaloperations.
GoodWeather:
While some festivals faced extreme weather, others reported having "good weather," showing the varied experiences depending onlocationandtiming.
In summary, while operational and weather-related challenges were prevalent, many respondents emphasised positive aspects which demonstrate an overall positive development within the festival industry and post pandemic operations.
The Risk Assessments Before the Event
What was basically your risk assessment BEFORE this year edition?
Comparison of Risk Assessments between 2023 and 2024 shows a clear rise regarding the expected likelihood of weather-related risks.
Expectable risks in the context of events, like crowd movement or technical problems, are still ranking on medium, representing common risks. They remain in medium “have to be assessed” position.
In 2024, political activism was assessed as a risk for the first time. It is plausible that in the beginning of the festival season, when the risk assessments were being conducted, those threats were not in the focus or did not present themselves in a focus.
This obviously changed during the season especially regarding a growing conflict between Israel and Palestine, which brought up a lot of divergent and potentially aggressive demonstrations and actions.
Assessment of the Event Itself
In a direct comparison, the changes of the main topics of the event operations during the last three years become quite visible, as shown in the graphic below.
What kind of issues (predictable or not) did you have to deal with DURING this year's edition?
The two key topics in the comparison were Lack of Security Staff (2022) and Weather (2023).
Lack of Security Staff
In recent years, the issue of laxking security staff at festivals has seen a notable decline in concern among festival planners. This development suggests that while security staffing remains a topic of concern, especially for large scale events, it is becoming less of a priority compared to other emerging challenges.
Weather
Weather has become a growing concern for festival planners. In 2022, only 8% cited it as critical, but by 2024, this rose to 29%. This increase reflects the rising unpredictability and severity of weather. While concerns slightly declined from 2023, weather-related risks remain prominent. Festival planners are becoming more aware and are adopting mitigation strategies, yet extreme weather events continue to pose significant challenges for the industry.
Which topics have occupied you the most in the PLANNING of this year’s festival edition?
The survey responses highlight a range of significant topics that festival organisers had to deal with while planning the 2024 festival edition. These challenges can be grouped into several themes, reflecting the operational, logistical, and safety concerns as demanding the most attention.
Crowd Management and Movement
Crowd management is always a focus for festival organisers, especially in ensuring safe movement within complex venues.
Planning and controlling the crowd flow between stages is essential to prevent bottlenecks and overcrowding, particularly with the presence of very enthusiastic fan groups, as well as ensuring front-stage safety with proper barrier systems, adequate personnel and crowd movement strategies and efficient evacuation routes or crowd control plans in case of incidents.
Weather and Environmental Topics
Extreme weather was one of the major concerns for festival organisers, with unpredictable conditions such as heat waves, storms, and heavy rainfall threatening the general safety of the events.
Evacuation planning was crucial requiring detailed protocols and staff readiness.
On the other hand, to deal with expected extreme heat, cooling areas, adequate water supplies, and medical support for heat-related illnesses became a key planning topic.
Same as getting ready for potential heavy rain, it led to adapted crisis management strategies regarding ingress and egress routes as well as camp-grounds.
General Safety and Security Concerns
General safety and security were top priorities for festival organisers, focusing on physical safety and preventing safetyandsecuritythreats.
Including counterterrorism efforts in collaboration with authorities, conducting security checks, using surveillance, and adapting the existing emergency response protocols, withtheadequateresponseteamsinplace.
Infrastructure and Logistical Challenges
Site management and infrastructure development are always essential areas of focus, particularly for festivals held at new or complex venues. Some festivals even required infrastructure setups being compliant with changing local regulations.
Roadworks or other changes within the last mile area required adapted traffic flow plans with local municipalities, aswellaschangesintheingressandegressplans.
Dealing more with weather-related risks led to power stabilityandbackupsystemstopreventoutages.
Social and Political Issues
Political activism and global movements were additional factors that occupied organisers’ attention, getting prepare forpotentialactivismorprotestsduringthefestival.
The rising involvement of political and environmental activism in public events, caused the need to develop plans to manage demonstrations and/or activists without disruptingthefestival.
Budgeting and Economic Pressures
Budgeting for the festival was a significant challenge all over the post pandemic years. The consistent rising costs across the board makes it difficult to fulfil all needs, operational as wellasinregardtosafetyandsecurity.
What Was THE Major Challenge For
You This Year
Even if the general challenges vary from festival to festival, the survey demonstrated key issues, summarized below, clearly showing the link between the topics which kept the festivals occupied in planning and their onsite challenges.
Weather:
Unpredictable Weather: The season was guided by instability, with storms, high winds and high temperature or heavy rain before or during the event with the risk of damaging the site and impacting the audience's experience leading to the need of focusing on drainage options on-site. Heavy rain posed additional challenges, rendering camping grounds unusable and causing operational delays, creating a need to optimise the existing crisis management strategies to address site damage and safety risks.
Severe Weather Campaigns: Awareness campaigns needed to be launched to address weather-related safety issues to the audience and the crew, including behaviour in case of storms, evacuation and power outages.
CrowdManagementandSafety:
Crown Movement Challenges: Managing large crowds in the face of severe weather was a challenge in addition to the general crowd managementplans.
Counterterrorism Measures: In some countries authorities increased counterterrorism efforts at the last minute, which required additional safety protocols and coordination with securityteams.
Inexperienced Festival Goers: A newer audience, including special fan-groups, as K-pop crowds, presented challenges in terms of managing inexperienced attendees and maintainingfront-stagesafety.
Security and Staff:
Potential Staff Shortages: Although the festivals eventually managed to secure enough staff, the concerns about potential shortages and the quality of staff were always present. Additionally, extra consideration needed to be given to the rising costs and the high demand forexperiencedpersonnel.
Logistical Changes and Infrastructure:
Electricity and Power Outages: Bad weather conditions sometimes caused power outages, whichimpactedtheelectricitystructure.
Political and Economic Challenges:
New Government Guidelines: Regulatory changes, especially in a politically complex country like Belgium,requiredadaptationtoconstantlyshifting governmentguidelines.
Rising Costs: High production costs, along with lower-thanexpected pre-sales, added financial strain. Budgeting became even more challenging with increased expenses for site preparationandtheimpactofinflation.
Political Activism: Activism linked to conflicts in the Middle East or climate change created an additional layer of complexityinmanagingthefestivalenvironment.
Coordination with Authorities:
Roadwork and Traffic Management: Underlying conditions, such as roadwork and traffic planning from the municipality, required rethinking traffic managementtoensuresmoothoperationsduring thefestivals.
Authority Relations: Dealing with authorities, including their requirements for crowd management and emergency planning, was a consistent challenge that needed constant attention.
Health and Safety (H&S):
Technical Safety and Liaison: Health and safety liaisons played an essential role in managing technical safety concerns, particularly related to severe weather conditions and crowd management.
Overall, in 2024 the festival orgsanisers had to navigate a broad range of challenges, from unpredictable weather to security, logistics, and regulatory changes. The solutions implemented, such as improved crowd management, diversified security, and partly new infrastructure setups, reflected the festival community’s ability to adapt under pressure.
As it can be seen clearly in the results of the survey, at least for the last two years weather was and still is one of the key topics. In thefollowingchapterthefocusisonthe increasing weather phenomena nowadays.
Weather Phenomena in the Context of Outdoor Events – Still a Number One Topic in Event Safety Planning
Open-air festivals, with their vibrant atmospheres and large crowds, are increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events due to climate change. The frequency and intensity of storms, heatwaves, heavy rains, and high winds are rising globally, posing significant risks to both safety and event planning. As these events become more common, festival organisers must adapt to ensure the safety of attendees and thesmoothexecutionoftheirfestivals.
Risk assessments have become essential in the planning process, allowing organisers to prepare for worst-case scenarios such as heat-related illnesses or structural damage from storms. Continuity planning is also crucial to maintaining operations during adverse conditions, with strategies for realtime evacuations, sheltering protocols, or rescheduling to protectattendees,staff,andartists.
Addressing these challenges requires international collaboration. Festivals in Northern Europe, often dealing with rain and storms, can learn from Southern Europe’s experience with extreme heat and drought. Sharing knowledge on heat and wildfire management, resilient infrastructure, and effective evacuation plans can help festivalsworldwideimprovetheirpreparedness.
This article highlights insights from meteorologists on evolving weather patterns and their impact on future festivals. Best-practice examples from European festivals show how some have successfully navigated extreme weather, offering valuable lessons. By sharing strategies and fostering global cooperation, the festival industry can build resilience in the face of an increasingly unpredictable climate.
A quick background overview
There are many terms used in the context of weather and climatechange,solet'sbrieflyclarifythem.
What is weather? Weather refers to the current conditions of the atmosphere in a specific place at a specific time. The type of information we check on our phones when deciding whether to bring a raincoat. Weather is a result of the climate,butfluctuatesfromdaytoday.
What is climate? While weather is what's happening now, climate is the bigger picture. It’s the average weather conditions observed in a particular location over a long period, usually around 30 years. It can be seen as the overall pattern, which tells if a region is typically warm, cold, dry, or humid.
Climate Change: The Bigger Challenge
Climate change refers to any significant changes in the above-mentioned long-term weather patterns. This term encompasses all types of instability in our climate, whether it's rising temperatures, increased rainfall, or prolonged droughts. These changes have been accelerating,
particularly since the Industrial Revolution, due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrialprocesses.
Outcomes of a changing climate
The global rise in CO2 emissions over the past century has led to a sustained increase in temperatures, with significant warming trends since the 1920s, accelerating notably since the 1980s. This warming correlates with phenomena like glacier melt and increased extreme weather events. While natural drivers play a role in short-term variations, evidence shows that the observed rise in Earth's temperature is due to both human and natural factors, as demonstrated in the followingdiagram.
Source: wikipedia.org
Modern
Climate Changes: What It Means for festivals and outdoor events
The term “modern climate change” specifically refers to the changes we’ve seen over the last few decades. It's characterised by more frequent extreme weather events, like heat waves, heavy rainfall, and unexpected temperature drops – all of which significantly affects outdoor events in planningandon-site.
As illustrated in the following graphics, weather and climate are highly complex and delicate systems influenced by numerous factors. Human activities over the past century have intensified these influences, resulting in more unpredictableweatherpatterns.
The fragility of the climate system means even slight warming can cause significant impacts, including more frequent extreme heat events and severe weather like intense thunderstorms. These patterns, observed over the past 30 years, indicate ongoing climate change. The annual European State of the Climate Report highlights the alarming trend of rising temperatures and their effects acrossEurope,underscoringtheurgentneedforaction.
Source: IPAA, 2007
Source: Trenberth et al., 2009
“Europe is the fastest warming continent, with temperatures rising at around twice the global average rate, as underlined by the European Climate Risk Assessment”
Considering the aforementioned factors, significant consequences are anticipated for the European continent, with implications expanding globally.
For festival organisers, this means that weather risks have become harder to predict, making it more crucial than ever to stay informed and prepared.
Building Up Resilience
The key message is that climate and weather will not "change back" in the near future, likely for the next 30–50 years. To mitigate rising temperatures and address climate change, immediate and substantial action is needed to reduce CO2 levels. The good news is action can be taken. Building climate resilience requires adopting clean energy, sustainable transportation, local food consumption, water conservation, and innovative technologies. These measures, including in the event industry, are crucial for preventing furthernegativeimpactsofclimatechange.
“In summer in particular, however, special attention must be paid to storms, which can occur at any time and almost suddenly”
“Conventional warnings, such as those offered by various weather services on the Internet, are usually too imprecise,... and also leave a lot of room forinterpretations”
“The outdoor season in 2024 was characterised by generally unstable weather conditions. In June, July and the first half of August in particular, therewas hardlyevera dryspell ofweather that lasted longer than 1 or at most 2 days. Instead, showers, thunderstorms or intense rain were frequently on the program which lead to interruptions, postponements and cancellations.”
Bernhard Mühr – EWB Wetterberatung
Best practice
Festival organisers must ensure safety amid extreme weather by understanding the site, anticipating challenges, and implementing precautions. Key steps include adapting planning, conducting risk assessments, and creating action plans. Sharing best practices across regions is crucial, as southern countries face heat waves while northern countries handle rain. We highlight examples from Denmark and Portugal.
The governments of both countries published official weather guidelines for festival organisers, referring to the safety of everyone being onsite.
The complete Danish guideline can be found here: www.dmi.dk The complete Portuguese guideline can be found here: www.agif.pt
Source: pixabay.com
Portugal
IncombinationwiththeincreasingheatinsouthernEuropethedangerofwildfiresevenin thecontextoffestivalshasincreasedoverthelastcoupleofyears.MiguelAlmeida,safety and security manager for Boom Festival as well as a very active researcher at the University of Coimbra in the field of wildfires, gives some best practice advice for the upcomingheatwavesthatNorthernEuropeisexperiencingsinceacoupleofyearsago.
BestPracticesforFireRiskManagementatFestivalsinFire-ProneAreas
Fire safety at festivals in fire-prone areas requires coordinated efforts between festival organisers,civilprotectionagencies,andsafetyauthorities.Keyelementsincludefirerisk assessment, vegetation management, ignition prevention, and emergency preparedness.
FireRiskMappingandAssessment
Thefestivalsiteshouldbemappedwith a buffer zone of at least 5 km, considering vegetation, wind patterns, fuel moisture, and fire behaviour. Identify vulnerable areas, especially those at risk of fire spotting, and implement self-protection measures thatadheretolocalregulations.
VegetationandFuelManagement
Effective vegetation control is essential. Keep herbaceous plants very low near key assets like tents and stages and prune trees in special areas f.e., in areas with flammable species like pine, create firebreaks to limit the spreadofcrownfires.
Man-madeFuelandSectorization Sectorizeareaswithvehicles,caravans, and infrastructure to limit fire spread. Isolate high-risk elements, like fuel storage, and ensure vehicles are parked for quick evacuation, with sector distances adhering to fire intensityguidelines.
IgnitionControl
To keep the awareness for the topic on a high level during the festival run a fire safety awareness campaign to inform attendees about entry restrictions, fire risks, and safe behaviours. The usage of both digital tools (e.g., a mobile app, social media) and traditional announcements via the PA system, signage and the use of video screens should be implementedintothecommunication.
EmergencyPreparednessandResponse
Developing a comprehensive emergency plan is absolutely crucial including quick response measures such as stationing heavy machinery near critical areas to quickly create firebreaks and having firefighting resources available quickly. Establish safe meeting points with logistical support. Staff and volunteers training in fire safety protocols should be included into the preparation, ensuring the personnel in questioniseasilyidentifiableduringemergencies.
PublicCommunicationandAwareness
To keep the awareness for the topic on a high level during the festival run a fire safety awareness campaign to inform attendees about entry restrictions, fire risks, and safe behaviours. The usage of both digital tools (e.g., a mobile app, social media) and traditional announcements via the PA system, signage and the use of video screens should be implementedintothecommunication.
FireResponse
Inthedrysummermonths,theoccurrenceofafirecannever be fully excluded. If happening, ensure the emergency plan is getting activated and adapted if needed. A close coordination with the civil protection and safety authorities in the process should be held as well as on decisions regardingpotentialsiteclosures.
Denmark
Since the preparedness for great heat and potential wildfires used to be essential for the Southern European countries, wind and rain were the focus topics for the Northern European countries in the past.
Key Weather Phenomena and Their Impact
Wind:
Wind can be hazardous, toppling structures like tents and signs. It’s important to have a plan for actions based on wind speeds, accounting for both average and gusts.
Weather Response Team
Rain:
Rain can turn the site muddy, making movement difficult and affecting logistics. Adequate drainage and materials like gravel are essential. Electrical equipment must be protected from moisture.
Thunderstorms: Lightning is especially dangerous in open areas with metal structures. A solid evacuation plan is vital, and staff must be trained accordingly.
Sun and Heat:
Prolonged exposure can cause dehydration or heatstroke. Shade and drinking water should be readily available, and guests should be advised to use sunscreen and protective headgear.
Creating a weather response team is crucial for rapid decision-making. This team should consist of key festival personnel and be tasked with monitoring weather, informing stakeholders, and implementing safety measures when necessary.
Key Responsibilities for the team should be such as a continuous monitoring of weather conditions and alerts, communicating weather changes to all relevant parties, holding regular meetings during critical periods and ensuring safety procedures are followed. Finally dismantle critical structures if needed due to dangerous weather.
Staff Safety Instructions
All festival staff must be trained to respond to changing weather conditions, particularly those handling structures. They should know when and how to secure or dismantle structures and have access to the necessary tools and protective gear. Clear evacuation procedures should also be established and communicated.
Using Meteorologists
As weather risks must be an integral part of the safety planning for every outdoor event including a professional meteorologist into the safety structure of the event might be of great help. Especially in terms of consequential damages such as reputational damages and high-level insurance cases.
Conventional warnings, such as those offered by various weather services on the Internet, are usually too imprecise, often issued too late and leave a great deal of room for interpretation and inadequate response options.
The experience of recent years shows how valuable the support of trained and experienced meteorologists on site can be - the qualified observation of weather events leads to a qualitatively better and faster assessment of the potential for severe weather threats and, due to fast and direct communication channels to the relevant parties involved, important decisions can be made directly and efficiently. Even on days without the potential for severe weather, experts were able to provide valuable information at an early stage, for example on wind or storm potential, and prepare or initiate suitable measures.
It goes without saying that external consulting activities never compete with the official weather services of the various countries, such as the German Weather Service (DWD) and its warning system. In many cases, however, these warnings can be refined in terms of space and time, and it is not uncommon for events to benefit from the earlier issuing of a warning or the earlier cancellation of a warning. And sometimes, despite a valid warning from an official service, there is no immediate danger to the venue and the event.
Source: spiegel.de
Temporary Structures
Temporary structures, such as tents, stages, and canopies, pose significant risks in the context of severe weather phenomena due to their inherently lower stability and structural integrity compared to permanent buildings. They must be constructed to withstand local conditions, with properstructuralcalculationstoensuresafety.
To set up a resilient system, a detailed overview of all structures on the site should be created including under which weather conditions they should be secured or dismantled and who is responsible for carrying out those actions. These action plans have to be implemented into the weather-related risk assessments as well as in the general safetyplans.
Being in close contact with all involved parties such as suppliers of video walls, stages and rigging suppliers increases the security of the actual structure and the other structures directly involved. This includes the appropriate setupofstructuresasstages,tents,andpavilionsaccording toapplicablesafetystandardsandcertifications.
The communication of any scenario description and / or action plans to the relevant parties within the emergency scenariosisvital.
Photo: Jaroslav Nov·k/TASR/dpa/picture alliance | Extreme weather event at Pohoda Festival 2024
What’s next?
The actual climate changes and the resulting weather phenomena will not change in the next upcoming years. Event organisers and safety and security planners must adapt to this circumstance - preferably sooner rather than later. Being in close contact with experts and researchers in the field of weather and climate changes plus the close contact with colleagues from all around Europe is increasing the ability to createanassafeaspossibleenvironmentforeveryoneonthe festival sites. To be able to provide the best possible festival experience to the guests on the field, resilient systems have to be created by all people involved in planning. Not having festivals with their vibrant atmosphere and the goal of bringingpeopletogetherisnotanoption!
As shown in the texts above, there is a need to adapt measures to the old and the new challenges in the general planning and specifically in the safety planning of an outdoor festival. As one of the key points to prevent further legal consequences, f.e. after an evacuation, documentation is one of the most important tools to use in the various phases of the festival operations, going side by side with a fundamental planning.
Why Document - The Importance of Documentation in Planning and Operations in Event Safety
The end of the festival summer 2024 emphasizes the critical significance of safety planning at festivals. Crowd safety management includes the components of planning, organising, and monitoring to ensure a safe and enjoyable experienceforallattendees.Whiletheimportanceofplanning iswidelyacknowledged,challengesariseincomprehendingits true meaning, implementing effective strategies, and balancing comprehensive planning with risk assessmentparticularly as safety personnel face new challenges and updatedplansannually.
This article provides practical advice on planning, placing particular emphasis on the necessity of documentation alongsideplanningtoenhancesafety.
“Documentation starts at the beginning of the planning process.”
Identifying Early Warnings: Learning from Disasters
Source: amazon.com
In the book *Learning from Disasters* by Toft and Reynolds, the concept of an “incubation period” in accidents is introduced, and there is a lot to learn for safe festival operations. The incubation period means that minor oversights accumulate and ultimately lead to an incident. The primary reason for accidents often resides in an oversight of earlywarning signs or an insufficiently prompt reaction. Consequently, the objective in planning should involve establishing an operational framework that enables all parties to react swiftly and coordinate effectively to prevent incidents – or at a minimum, reduce their impact. And finally, being able to document the incidents to keep the awareness on those incidents high and try to eliminate even thesmalleventsleadingintoabiggerincident.
The Swiss Cheese Model illustrates very clearly how safety systems function and where their weaknesses lie. It also raises the questions of when hazards/errors are noticed and when they can be documented. When hazards pass through almost all safety barriers, they may be registered and documented as near misses. However, the learning factor begins at the very first safety barrier and the documentation andthelearningshouldstartthere.
Near misses should not be shrugged off but instead be treated as fortunate experiences, since if the same events were to repeat themselves in less forgiving circumstances, then disaster might ensue.
(Learning from Disasters)
The statement that near misses should not be shrugged off but instead be treated as fortunate experiences shows the importance of documentation on-site to be able to evaluate logged situations in the aftermaths and learn from them. Thekeypointisthatifthesameincidents(nearmisses)were to repeat themselves in other surroundings or circumstances, a disaster might ensue. Additionally gaining insightsfromincidentsatothereventsisveryadvantageous and emphasises the advantage and need of a constant exchange.
Learning from each other for safer Events
Learning from each other as well as a constant exchange between festivals and events in general help identifying commonalities across various disasters and develop universal response strategies. Or share already proved and implementedresponsestrategies.
The foundational basis for effective safety planning and practicescanbeobservedintheairlineindustry'ssystemof reporting and sharing lessons learned from both disasters
andnearmisses.Theideabehindthissafetymodelissimple: if something bad happens, it must be ensured that it never happens again; otherwise, fatalities could occur. When incidents happen, the lessons learned are documented, prompting all organisations within the industry to revise their plans, procedures, and protocols accordingly. This system can and should be adapted into the safety planning foreventsaswell.
The ultimate goal for festivals is delivering a remarkable experience for attendees, prioritising their and everyone else’s safety. Organisations such as YOUROPE Event Safety (YES) Group play an important role in this context by facilitating knowledge sharing and collaboration to improve safety outcomes for everyone involved in events, staff as well as artistsandtheaudience.
Case Study: Planning for Weather Challenges
The storm that hit Pukkelpop in 2011 is a great example of the importance of being prepared for bad weather and led to a replanning of how Roskilde Festival dealt with weather-related issues. Consequently, comprehensive plans for extreme weather were thoroughly revamped to ensure they were well-documented, tested, and effectively communicated across the organisation. This advance preparation proved invaluable; during one notably wet year, where over 65mm of rain fell, the well-documented plans enabled the festival to address various safety challenges without being overwhelmed by theweatherconsequences.
“Being aware of early warning signs allows for timely reactions”
The planning framework places emphazises on early warning signs, which allows for timely reactions. It is based on Hollnagel's four-step resilience approach, with a 5th step added which is worth considering duringtheplanningprocess.:
1. Create a Baseline of Conditions
2. Define Deviations from the Baseline
3. Develop a Management Plan to Return to Baseline
4. Monitor for Deviations and Trigger Procedures When Needed
5. Determine When Conditions Return to Baseline
For instance, the weather plans do not define "good weather" merely as baseline conditions; instead, they describe a safe and functional site where the event can proceed without compromising safety. That doesn`t necessarily mean perfect festival weather, with 25° C, partly cloudy and a slight wind. The focus remains on maintaining site operability, including functional infrastructure and safe environments for attendees. It's important to know which deviations are happening and to set up ways to deal with them appropriately,aswellasdocumentingthesituationandtheactionstaken.
“Foresee the unforeseen”
Photo: Chuck Haupt/American Red Cross
Documentation as the Backbone of Safety
Apotentialdrawbackofdetailedplanningliesinanexcessive focus on familiar risks, which may result in overlooking unforeseen challenges, following the quote “Foresee the unforeseen”. Staying informed about broader industry challenges and trends is, therefore, essential. By documenting the above-mentioned baseline conditions and expected deviations, as well as implementing adequate briefing and training, staff members are empowered to respondproactivelyratherthanreactively.
Effective planning is about more than just creating documents; it's about having detailed documentation. Unfortunately, it is still quite common that some people retain critical plans and crisis planning in their heads rather than writing them down and making them available to all relevant parties involved, leading to significant vulnerabilities within the safety system of the festival. A single person cannot oversee all aspects during a crisis, and staff members will struggle to respond swiftly without establishedprotocols.
Especially after the pandemic and the first very exhausting postpandemicfestivalyear,moreandmoreeventorganisers make the effort to ensure that safety plans align with an overall strategy. This usually involves developing a clear safety plan that encompasses crowd density management, security, health and safety considerations. One of the biggest mistakes is to prepare this document solely for authoritiestoobtainaneventlicense,becausetheapproach should lie in getting these plans in operation and making themreadilyaccessiblethroughouttheorganisation.
From Documentation to Implementation
As described in the former section a thorough documentation system is essential for translating plans into effective action. Documentation must reach those on the ground to ensure clarity regarding roles and effective response during critical moments. Once plans are documented, comprehensive training and rehearsals must occur in advance of the event, to give staff the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the protocols.
Real time reporting and documentation
Another important aspect of documentation in terms of error analysis and anticipation for an ongoing event, lies in the organisation of information gathering and dissemination onsite. Planning and documentation prior to an event should create a cohesive picture of the event and its threats to the audience and crew and serve as the foundation for personnel planning,processdevelopment,andbriefings.
Another important aspect of documentation in terms of error analysis and anticipation for an ongoing event, lies in the organization of information gathering and dissemination on-site. Planning and documentation prior to an event should create a cohesive picture of the event and its threats to the audience and crew and serve as the foundation for personnel planning, process development, and briefings. However, the process is only complete when it is ensured that all parties are familiar with this picture, can immediately identify deviations, and can promptly reportthesedeviationstoacentralplacewiththeabilityto assessthem.
This central location, potentially the multi-agency control room, can consolidate various incoming reports into a situational overview, identify patterns, and direct measures toallinvolvedparties.
In this sense, the rapid transmission and documentation of all occurrences on-site serve the operational implementation of safety measures for the entire organisation, thereby helping to create a safe and pleasant environmentforeventattendees.
Source: Roskilde Festival Plan
Concerns Regarding Documentation and Planning
Concerns such as “What happens if we don’t adhere to our plans in the legal aftermath? Should we limit our documentation?” are frequently encountered. This perspective, however, is unproductive. Proper documentation serves to highlight early signs of deviation, potentiallysavingbothtimeanddamages.
Of course, plans must strike a balance between specificity and flexibility. While weather plans are established, it remains impossible to predict every conceivable scenario. For instance, if sudden high winds affect structures and tents, the foundational plans in place will enable swift managementoftheseunexpectedissues.
So, when developing plans, it is crucial to incorporate flexibility in decision-making. For example, clearly articulate that the plan aims to ensure a timely response rather than prescribe precise actions, unless exact actions are indeed necessary. Moreover, it is essential to document any
deviationsfromtheinitialplan,includingtherationalebehind thesechanges.
Thewholeideaofdocumentingplansandactionsistomake it easy to execute and test the potential solutions. Then verify if the results equal the expected results and then act by implementing the best solution. That counts as well for analysing the actions taken in the aftermath and verifying their effectiveness, which might result in a re-planning of newpotentialusefulactions.
“Plans are worthless, but planning is everything,”
Source: testsigma.com
So what does that all mean?
! EffectivePlanningEqualsBetterSafety
Dwight D. Eisenhower's assertion, “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything,” encapsulates a vital principle. The creation of plans revolves around the identification of risks and the imperative that the entire organisation comprehends the signs that need action. When documented, plans can be disseminated, trained upon, and rehearsed, thereby preparing the team for various situations.Furthermore,comprehensivedocumentationnot only enhances safety but also positions the organisation to respond adeptly in the face of potential legal scrutiny. In conclusion, thorough planning, effective documentation, andcomprehensivestafftrainingareessentialtoimplement crowd safety management. By prioritising these aspects, the capacity to foster a safer and more successful event for allpartiesinvolvedissignificantlyenhanced.
Photo: Open Air St. Gallen 2022
Although the survey results show that the potential terrorist threats were not one of the main topics in the planning phase, and even if the result of the challenges on site was not significantly higher, the potential terrorist incidents happening this summer as the cancellation of the Taylor Swift shows in Vienna f.e., had impact on the operations for some European Festivals. As safety and security planners always include the potential risk of terrorist attempts and other threats in their safety plans, these incidents created a greater attention in the public perception.
In addition to the “known” dangers, there are also new potential external threats to the operations of festivals and events in general.
New Threats Impacting Public Events: Terrorism, Opportunistic Protests, and Societal Challenges
In today’s fast-moving and dynamic event landscape, organisers are increasingly confronted with an array of new, old and sometimes unexpected challenges. Dealing with the resurgence of public focus on terrorist threats, addressing activism related to the ongoing Middle East conflict, and the danger of potential disruptions by climate activists or cybercrimearejustsomeofthemwiththequitenewrisks.In addition to that unforeseen or unprecedented situations being latent in the background can significantly impact the smoothoperationsofpublicevents.
In this context, festivals and large-scale events are not immune to potential disruptions. Their high visibility, with often national or even international attention, including a heightened media presence, might make them an appealing target not only for malicious actors but also for those seekingaplatformforprotestoradvocacy.
A look at the new challenges festival organisers are facing today is needed, while also the need for a proactive and balanced approach to manage these new, old and unforeseenchallengeseffectively,isessential.
Emerging Challenges: Terrorism, Activism and Cybersecurity
All three parts of the new threads or challenges event organisersmustdealwithmighthaveimpactsonaveryhigh levelifhappeningduringtheeventoperations.Sincethetop priority is operations continuity of the event, these three topics should find their ways into nowadays risk assessmentsandcontinuityplannings.
The Terrorism Threat:
A Growing Public Concern
Inrecentyears,publiceventshavebecomepotentialtargets for terrorism and shifted more into public focus. Festivals, concerts, and mass gatherings that were once seen purely as entertainment and vibrant and atmospheric gettogethers are now getting another side as high-profile platforms for potential terrorist attacks. Event organisers are now in the need to develop complex security protocols together with the relevant authorities to minimise these risks. Since the audience expects an environment of entertainment, enjoyment, and free movement, that creates a challenge in maintaining stringent security
protocols without dampening the atmosphere or making them tooobvious. The balance between creating an accessible, vibrant and atmospheric event and securing it against possible attacks is a great dilemma faced by event organiserstoday.
Activism and Opportunistic Protests
The last years have seen a rise in political and social activism, with public events becoming attractive grounds for demonstrations. The possibility that activistsmightusethelargecrowdsand mediaattentionthatfestivalsbringwith them, to amplify their messages has increased. For example, environmental activists might block event areas in protest of the event’s carbon footprint or inadequate political statements might be shown openly in crowded areas as f.e. rising a Palestinian or Israel flag in the first row of the main stage. These examples have the potential to raise open protests inside the event premises.
Source: istockphoto.com
Source: Picture created by AI
These described potential scenarios show the new risks event organizers need to think about and plan for. How should activists obstructing entry to a festival be responded to, mirroring protests seen in other public spaces? How canthey be mitigated or disrupted without overstepping boundaries that may provoke accusations of suppressing freedomofexpression?
The described scenarios require a delicate balancing act. A harsh crackdown on peaceful activists could tarnish a festival’s reputation, while a lax response might embolden further disturbing actions. Organisers are placed in a difficult position, having to protect the continuity of the event operations without giving the group or individual in question a stage, or drawing public criticism for overreacting to protest movements. And always tryingtokeepthemainfocushigh:thespiritofthefestival. “
“Adapted planning and training Staff is crucial”
The Impact of Activism on Crowd Management and Communication
As disruptive protests would pose unique challenges for crowd management they would do so as well for the event communication. When a festival is interrupted by a protest or activist action, organisers must ensure not only the safety of attendees but also clear, effective communication to prevent confusion or uncontrolled actions or movements. In situations where protestors block festival entry points, organisers must quickly inform, redirect crowd flow, and resolve the situation without inflaming tensions or escalating conflict.
Additionally, training staff in advance on how to handle these situations is crucial. Security teams need to know how to intervene tactfully to avoid provoking a crisis while ensuring the safety of all participants. However, the response must be measured to avoid accusations of excessive repression, which could lead to a media backlash. On the other hand, too lenient an approach might embolden future disruptions and frustrate attendees expecting a smooth experience.
Photo: unsplash.com
Cybersecurity: A New Frontier
The fast growing digital transformation has revolutionised the organisation of public events, from online ticketing and mobile apps to digital crowd management. However, this reliance on technology inducts new risks. Cyberattacks targeting ticketing platforms, data breaches, and hackerinitiated disruptions are very real threats that organisers should consider and analyse through their risk assessments. The protection of sensitive customer data and the smooth functioning of digital infrastructure have become essential to ensuring an event’s success.
The need for cybersecurity is increasingly coming into focus, requiring robust measures to safeguard digital systems and sensitive data from cybercriminals. That includes adequate risk assessments, adapted safety plans and the training of event staff to enforce the procedures, to recognize and mitigate these risks to prevent any disturbance to the digital framework supporting the event.
Navigating the New Challenges: Proactive
Threat Management
The modern event landscape requires organisers to adopt a proactive stance in threat management, anticipating potential disruptions while maintaining a focus on public safety. These new societal challenges demand a thoughtful, flexible approach that balances security with freedom of expression.
Festivals are now seen as symbolic and strategic targets for activists and must be treated as such in security planning. This makes it essential for organisers to train staff in handling protests, set up clear communication channels for rapid crowd management, and ensure that their responses to activist actions are measured and proportionate. Security measuresshouldfocusonsafeguardingattendeeswhilealso protectingtheevent’sreputation.
At the same time, organisers must stay vigilant and adaptable in responding to the evolving landscape of potential threats, including terrorism, activism, and cyberattacks. The integration of new technologies must be
balanced with maintaining traditional safety practices, such as crowd control, emergency exits, and weather-related precautions. While new tools can enhance safety, they should not overshadow the core principles of event security thathavebeenestablishedoverdecades.
How to handle the new threats?
! FindingBalanceinaComplexEnvironment
The challenges of organising large-scale public events in today’s society are undeniably complex and multifaceted. Terrorism, cyberattacks, environmental activism, and political protest have transformed the way festivals are planned and executed. Yet, amid these developments, it is critical that the fundamental principles of event security remainattheforefront.
Event organisers must strike a delicate balance between adapting to these emerging threats and maintaining triedand-true safety protocols. Only by approaching these issues proactively, with a combination of foresight, innovation, and respect for fundamental rights, can festivals continue to thrivesafelyandsuccessfullyinthisever-evolvingcontext.
Among the new threats and new focus on old threats there are challenges that continuously test event organisers year after year.
Accreditation is one of those topics event organisers are dealing with every year and sometimes despair of finding the perfect solution. Which brings up the question if a perfect solution for an accreditation system for crew, artists and volunteers is possible. Besides the challenges of setting up a functioning and “easy to understand” accreditation system in general, it must be ensured that a potential misuse of accreditations cannot be realised.
Spotlight on the Survey – The Dangers of Handing Out Accreditation
While it was not a big topic regarding the outcomes of the survey, practitioners certainly are aware of the problem of accreditations being shared, given away or copied. This is even worse when it comes to high profile artist accreditations.
Accreditations are vital security tools used to control access to restricted areas at all kinds of events. While many people think of them simply as “passes for entry”, they play a critical role in maintaining the safety and organisation of these events. When accreditations are misused—whether by being handed out to friends or copied by strangers—it introduces significant security vulnerabilities particularly in environments where controls are often less stringent, such as festival campsites or VIP zones.
Photo: Ondrej Koscik | Pohoda Festival Campground
Photo: Holger Jan Schmidt
The Consequences of Handing Out Accreditations
Handing out accreditations, whether to friends, family members, or even acquaintances, might seem harmless in some cases, but it poses several serious risks:
Breach of Security: giving accreditations away allowing unauthorised individuals to enter spaces they shouldn't, creating potential safety risks. A lack of control over who has access can lead to high vulnerability.
Potential for Harm: Unauthorised individuals who gain access may have harmful intentions, such as industrial espionage, sabotage, or even terrorism.
Crowd Control / Overcrowding: Restricted zones are also managing crowd size and movement. Handing out accreditations can cause overcrowding in areas meant for a limited number of individuals for safety reasons.
Legal Consequences: The mis-use of an accreditation can be illegal. Those caught could face serious legal repercussions and it can damage the reputation of the person or entity responsible for issuing the accreditation in the first place.
How to Protect Against Accreditation
Misuse
Advanced Security Features: Implement more advanced security features for accreditations, such as holographic seals, embedded RFID chips, or unique barcodes.
Limited Access to Accreditation Designs: Event officials and media outlets should avoid sharing high-resolution images of accreditations.
Regular Security Checks: Event organisers should conduct routine checks, not only at the main entry points but also regularly within restricted areas. Education and Awareness: Staff, media, and participants should be informed about the dangers of sharing or lending accreditations, no matter how trustworthy the other person may seem. Additionally, performers, staff, and even festival goers need to be made aware of the risks of posting photos of their accreditations on social media. Ensuring that everyone understands the importance of accreditation control is vital in maintaining event security.
Refer the problem in contracts: Artists and artist related staff should be aware of the dangers of giving away passes. To avoid discussions on-site, a reference in the contract is desired to help with legal charges, if needed.
Check VIPs: VIPs, despite their status, often undergo less stringent security checks, both when entering and moving within the event. While this may be seen as a convenience for high-profile guests, it represents a security vulnerability.
Fake Accreditations – A Growing Problem?
A recent incident during the Euro 2024 football championship highlightshowdangerousfakeaccreditationscanbe.
The Euro 2024 Incident: Fake
Accreditations and the Marvin WildhageCase
During Euro 2024, a breach in security occurred when Marvin Wildhage, a well-known prankster and YouTuber, gained access to the field using a fake accreditation. Wildhage reportedly copied an accreditation pass by closely examining photos of the real badges shared online by mediaoutletsandofficials.Armedwiththisfakepass,he managed to bypass multiple security checkpoints and ended up on the field, an area that should have been strictly limited to players, officials, and authorised personnel.
Source: nypost.com
This situation underscores how vulnerable accreditation systems can be to manipulation when sensitive details are publicly visible. Wildhage’s actions, while not motivated by malice, revealed the gaps in security protocols, raising concerns about what could happen if someone with more dangerous intentions took similar steps. This case demonstrated that it’s not just about physically possessing an accreditation; even merely displaying them in the wrong context,suchasinanewsphoto,canleadtomisuse.
“All it takes is access to high-resolution photos, basic design software, and a printer”
Photo: Picture created by AI
The Marvin Wildhage incident also brings attention to the broader issue of fake accreditations. With the advancement of technology, creating counterfeit passes has become easier than ever. All it takes is access to high-resolution photos, basic design software, and a printer, and someone can potentially recreate a convincing fake. While this case took place at a major sporting event, the same issues apply to festivals and other large gatherings where accreditations are required.
How to deal with that?
At many festivals, people often post photos of their passes or wear them casually, making them easy targets for those looking to create counterfeits. Once a fake accreditation is created, it can open the door for unauthorised people to enter secure areas. Fake accreditations aren’t just a problem by pranksters. In serious contexts, people have used them to infiltrate sensitive areas for financial gain, theft, or to gather knowledge.
Despite all the threats and dangers addressed in this report, there have been many positive developments and advances in the field of event safety. It is always of a great importance to focus on those as well to be able to create the as perfect as possible atmosphere for the attendees of events.
Safe Gatherings in 2024 – Same But Different
With all the additional potential dangers and possible risks that were discussed previously, it is reasonable to assume that it is much more difficult for events to take place in a safe and secure environment. In reality, multiple risks were always present and had to find their ways into the risk assessments and appropriate planning. The approach to identify risks and potential dangers as a basis for safety planning is always the same even if the risks and dangers themselves might vary throughout theyears.
Crowd Safety - When Thousands of People Can Gather Safely
When discussing crowd safety, it is easy to focus on the potential dangers, risks, and accidents that can arise in densely packed gatherings. For those responsible for safety planning, the "worst case scenario" represents the benchmark against which the planning is adapted to ensure a continuous festival operation. However, there are also so many examples of large crowds gathering safely and peacefully. Music festivals with over 100,000 attendees provide an inspiring contrast to more concerning scenarios - thousands of people can come together in limited space, while still experiencing an atmosphere characterisedbysafety,communityandthefestivalspirit.
Growing positivism and enthusiasm were shown especially in the 2024 survey`s results when words as “good atmosphere”, “smooth”, “amazing” and “impressive” found their way back into the safety planner`s vocabulary for describing their festivals. Despite all the still existing challenges.
So how can crowd safety be practised effectively nowadays, emphasizingthatitisnotonlyaboutcontrolandsecuritybut also significantly about working with hospitality and communityamongparticipants?
The Change in Approach
Gathering thousands of people in a densely populated festival area may seem risky at first glance, but many large festivalsmanagetocreateanatmospherewhereguestsfeel welcomedandsafe,andseriousincidentsrarelyoccur.
Safety through Cooperation
Although the audience density can sometimes be comparable to major cities like Shanghai, serious accidents or dangerous situations rarely arise in such environments. This is largely due to a combination of extensive planning and a culture where community, responsibility, communicationandhospitalityarecentralelements.
“Hospitality over Security”
A Shift in Mindset: Hospitality over Security
One of the most notable trends in crowd safety is the shift from a security model focused on guards and control to the focus on hospitality. Creating an atmosphere where attendees feel welcomed, included, and jointly responsible for the safety of the festival, rather than feeling monitored orcontrolled.
Hospitality over security brings severaladvantages:
Staff as Hosts: Festival staff are perceived as hosts who welcome and assist guests rather than guards to maintain order. The hosts are trained to create a positive experience for festivalgoers, fostering an atmosphere of safetyandcooperation.
Self-empowerment: Attendees develop a sense of ownership over the festival's success and safety. When guests see themselves as active co-creators of the positive experience, they are more likely to take responsibility for their ownsafetyandthatofothers.
Strengthening Community: A hospitality-based approach fosters a strong sense of community and general awareness, where participants look out for one another and help ensure a good experience for all. When guests view staff as a helping hand rather than an authority, they become more inclined to beattentivetoandassistothersinneed.
Key Elements for the Success of the Approach
To understand how this approach works in practice, it is necessary to examine the fundamental factors that create a safeandsecurefestivalexperience.
Besides thorough planning and forethought functioning infrastructure, there are more elements to support the approach.
Community-Building Design
Community-building design elements, such as gathering areas and shared activities strengthen relationships among festival-goers and promote the mutual sense of responsibilitythatisessentialforcrowdsafety.
Photo: Holger Jan Schmidt | Roskilde Festival memorial area
Training and Communication
Staff and volunteers play a vital role in creating the positive spiritofafestivalandshouldbetrainedaccordinglytobehosts and co-creators of the atmosphere. They still have to be educated to identify and manage potentially dangerous situations, but their primary focus should lie on creating a welcomingandsafeenvironmentfortheguests.
Effective communication is an integral part of the hospitality culture. When both staff and guests feel comfortable communicating openly about issues or potential risks, many problems can be resolved before escalating.
Resources for Special Efforts
Although festivals focusing on hospitality aim to create an atmosphere of community and responsibility, it is still important to have resources available if a specific situation requires additional effort. Even the best-planned festival can encounter unforeseen incidents, where professionally trained personnelandspecialisedteamsplayacrucialrole.
Even when adopting a hospitality approach a strong safety preparedness is always mandatory. This combination of hospitality and preparedness ensures that the festival can handle incidents with efficiency and care as well as keeping up thejoyfulatmosphere.
Social Contract and Community
One of the most unique and powerful elements of festivals that practice crowd safety through hospitality is the social contractthatdevelopsamongparticipants.Festival-goersfeel part of a community where everyone looks out for each other. This community fosters a strong sense of responsibility among participants, making it natural to intervene, assist others,andsharetheresponsibilityforeveryone’ssafety.
This social contract is based on a shared understanding that safety is not just a matter handled by security personnel but a task everyone shares. It is this culture that makes the hospitality approach so effective – it creates a festival where everyone feels safe and responsible for one another’s experience.
Safety is not just about control, but largely about creating the right conditions for collaboration.
A Balanced Approach to Crowd Safety
Thisapproachillustratesthatcrowdsafetyisnotnecessarily about increased control or monitoring but is significantly about creating an experience where people take responsibility for themselves and each other. This is an important point when we talk about crowd safety in larger gatherings - safety is often best achieved through selfempowerment,communityandsharedresponsibility.
The summary of the new approach
After the first two post pandemic years in which festivals struggledtokeepthegeneraloperationsgoing,majormusic festivals demonstrate nowadays that crowd safety can be practiced with great success through a combination of careful planning, infrastructure, and a strong culture of hospitality. When festivals operate with hosts rather than guards and emphasize community, a positive and safe atmosphere is created where participants
take responsibility for each other, minimizing the risk of seriousincidents.
This approach serves as a valuable reminder that safety is not just about control but largely about creating the right conditionsforcollaborationandpositivebehaviour.
Photo: shutterstock.com
As mentioned before, the continuous knowledge exchange and examples of good and best practice are some of the key points for a resilient safety planning for events in general. Examples show how and what to learn from other countries regarding the existing weather challenges, but the exchange between different parts of the industry is equally important. Festivals learning from indoor shows and vice versa as well as taking a closer look into the venue’s perspective.
Last but not least – From a venue perspective and what can be learned from each other
Venues usually run an average of 50 to 125 shows a year and experienced an increase of touring artistsinthelastthreepostpandemicyears.
Most of the shows in indoor venues are concentrated between October and April each year, which often means running operations 24/7. This development aligns to more and more extravagant production designs resulting in more complex productions with an increasing number of trucks to handle, leading into challenges about the logistics in due time and space and additionally putting the touring and local crew underhighpressure.
In combination with the energy prices and inflation, this has led to rising costs for venues, promoters and touring parties, furthermore resulting in rising ticket prices for the attendees. Nevertheless, popular artists are still selling out regardless of their ticket prices. Moreover, a lot of artists propose a variety of VIP packages including Meet&Greet, goodie bags, early entries, food & beverages and many more. All of those leading into additional organisation, crowd management and logistics on top of the already tight resources. What brings a more festive experience for the audience, becomes a complex set of operations needing morestaffandlongershifts.
In addition to the standard risk assessments, particular attention has been paid in anticipating the consequences of a political statement by artist or audience with regards to the conflicts in the Middle East, between Ukraine and Russia, whilst still remaining vigilant for the risk of a terrorist attack.
Leadership skills are being challenged to coordinate and motivate event teams. The lack of experienced and qualified staff is still an issue as many companies recruit new staff to fulfil the needs of the industry. Plus, the crew pools are usually not as filled after a festival season.
Investing in good training and coaching of this new generation is essential and venues and festival organisations can help each other as usually it is the same staff operating at venues during autumn-winter-spring that we find working at festivals during summer as well.
CLOSURE
The events industry represents a dynamic and interconnected sector, characterized by ongoing exchanges of expertise and simultaneous operations across multiple locations.
This report outlines present and future priorities in safety planning and highlights the synergy between theoretical insights and practical applications, showcasing both good and best practices within the industry, as well as learnings from previous incidents in the industry.
It provides an overview of evolving focus areas within safety & security, as well as health & safety measures, particularly in the context of festival organization. Emphasis is placed on the critical importance of continuous knowledge exchange to foster a safer environment for all events across Europe. This ongoing collaboration is essential to ensuring that safety standards in the events industry are consistently enhanced, meeting the needs of diverse event settings throughout the entire Europe market.
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