Festival safety is essential for event organisers, attendees, and even surrounding communities. It can mean the difference between a successful event or one that’s remembered for all the wrong reasons. Ensuring event safety starts from the planning stage and continues long after the event has ended.
Risk Management
The most important aspect of event safety is risk management. This involves identifying potential risks beforehand, assessing those risks, implementing control measures to mitigate the risks and monitoring activities at all times during the event. It is also essential under the forthcoming Protect Duty legislation to have an event lockdown procedure in case of emergency and to communicate this with event staff and attendees. Having an emergency plan in place helps ensure that safety protocols are implemented quickly and efficiently if needed.
Crowd Control at Festivals
When planning a festival event, organisers must also consider crowd control measures such as fencing around sensitive areas, security personnel, access points limiting entry numbers, installing CCTV cameras and adequate lighting throughout the event area. Event organisers must consider having medical professionals available during events in case of any accidents or injuries that occur.
Accessibility
Festivals should be designed with accessibility in mind to reduce risk for any vulnerable people who may attend – this includes offering accessible seating areas for disabled guests, providing ramps and viewing platforms or other suitable means for wheelchair users to access areas within the event, ensuring there are disability toilet facilities available on site and providing visible signage to help guide attendees around the event area safely.
Festival Fire Safety
Fire hazards should also be taken into account when managing festival safety – fire exits should be clearly marked, easy to find and not blocked off by crowds or equipment or parked vehicles – especially in backstage areas. Electrical equipment should be up to date with recent inspections taking place either before or during an event. These should be undertaken by trained professionals as faults can cause fires as well as be a danger to users if left unchecked.
Selling Alcohol at Festivals
Festival safety considerations should be increased where alcohol is served, it is important to establish responsible drinking policies which limit intoxication levels among attendees, set age limits for alcohol sales and ensure that Premises Licence or Temporary Event Notice conditions are met.
Festival Sanitation
Proper sanitation facilities must also be provided – toilets must have running water for handwashing purposes along with soap dispensers, or hand sanitiser should be used. Bins need to be placed strategically throughout festival grounds so that littering can be kept under control .
Conclusion
Ensuring festival safety requires careful planning before an event takes place but it doesn’t end there – regular reviews of events need to take place afterwards too so that any issues can be identified – especially if events are to repeated, and are expected to grow numbers or in stature. Event organisers can learn from each other by sharing best practices in order to ensure safer events across different venues worldwide, and by joining groups such as the Event Industry Alliance and the National Outdoor Events Association. Ultimately , when well planned festival safety has positive benefits not only for those attending but also local communities who host these types of events too.