Festival security is a specialized service, one that requires strategic risk management plans to ensure the safety of all involved. Festival operators are required to provide the ultimate level of security and protection, something that can only be adequately carried out by professional security services.
The sheer number of people that attend such an event brings significant security issues. These include but aren’t restricted to:
- Communication for security and medical personnel and with the public
- Public order/antisocial behavior incidents
- Boundary patrol
- Entrance and exit security
- Alcohol and drugs
- Terrorism and extremism
- Securing the safety of artists and headline acts
- Drones
- Weapons
- Overcrowding, crowd surges
- Illness and injury
While the majority of people who attend a festival are there for enjoyment only, any situation that brings thousands (or potentially tens or hundreds of thousands) of people together will inevitably have incidents that occur. The best festival and concert security mitigate risks, both confirmed and potential, and does so in a manner that has the least impact on the attendee experience.
Regardless of size, the formulation of a security plan will need to take into account the following:
- Type of event, duration, and demographics: Such factors will determine the number of security guards necessary to provide adequate cover, the best policing of access and egress points, perimeter monitoring, where to position pedestrian and crowd barriers, the creation of cordons, and how to create spaces throughout for areas such as artist staging, activities, chill out zones, and more.
- Security personnel deployment: Strategic location placement is necessary to ensure that attendees and artists are secure, and to provide fast access by the relevant manpower should an incident occur (medical, fire, guards, supervisors, police, etc.).
- Coordination with local services: Such as ambulance, police, fire service.
- Major incident planning: A robust plan should be in place in the event of a situation, such as inclement weather, active shooter, fire, explosion, terrorist attack, etc. This should include an evacuation plan that takes into consideration that some access/egress points might be unusable in the event of such an occurrence.
Such planning also has the positive effect of helping attendees feel safer within the venue, something the presence of uniformed security guards will effectively create. They also serve as a visual deterrent to anti-social behavior.
Make Use Of Non-human Factors
This includes clear signage, unambiguous information as to who can access certain zones, vehicle passes (especially for events that have campgrounds), lists of prohibited items, and any other features that communicate information to attendees.
The larger the event, the more complex the security plan. However, all events need to take strategic steps to ensure all potential risks are covered. The leading global security firm, Fast Guard Service, is the trusted provider for some of the world’s most famous names and provide an unrivaled service for event security. Their event security service covers all aspects from the planning stage, through the festival itself, and post-event, ensuring that promotors, insurers, artists, staff, and concert-goers alike benefit from the highest degree of safety at all times.