Are You Prepared?
9th March 2015
Do you feel that your event is protected from a terrorist attack?
This video contains an outline of terrorism and its effects on the event industry.
Please take a few minutes to watch this video and reflect on your actions and your own opinions on this topic.
An interesting video. It would be interesting to hear how terrorist ready some event managers are out there?
Thank you for your comment, we look forward to further feedback and views on this topic.
Great video, terrorism is certainly a concern that has become more important to consider and plan for. Unfortunately, I feel that plans to deal with such risks are often developed after major disasters occur. I would hope that this video sparks some encouragement amongst event managers to develop their plans for handling potential attacks today rather than after the next one take place – although I do hope it doesn’t!
Thank you so much for your comment. We certainly agree with you, and hope that our video does change the opinions of event managers.
As an event attendee, terrorism is never usually the first thing to cross my mind as a danger, due to the fact that in comparison to other dangers that may happen, terrorism is at a relatively low occurrence. However, of all measures that are taken at events I strongly believe that terrorism prevention is one of the most important as the physical and emotional damages of an act of terrorism can be far more detrimental than many other dangers put together.
Thank you for your comments! Although terrorism threats may seem low and not a danger at some events, the threat of terrorism in the UK is assessed as severe. Although events may not be the direct target of an attack, terrorist attacks that occur near the location of an event could affect the event itself. For example after the 9/11 incident in New York the Ryder Cup was postponed and rescheduled for the following year. It is also important to acknowledged that most plans are put in place after major disasters (as commented below).
Do you think it would better to have plans in place ever thought the risks seem low to prevent possible future disasters?
As part of a syndicate that plans and hosts two events in Cornwall (one capacity of 1000, the other 5000), I found that your video thought provoking. It’s not something that we perhaps take seriously enough, because of the low risk.
There are minimum requirements that we have to put in place and measures that we have to take as a matter of procedure to ensure that we aren’t contravening the grounds of out public liability insurance.
For instance, with the events both being held in fields, under marquees and fenced around the peripheral. We have to undertake professional risk assessments and method statements which conclude the extent of what measures are put in place, ie; first aid posts, fire points, public service, signage.
It would be unfair to say that we are perhaps a little lackadaisical, however, as a business, we are required to provide a safe atmosphere, but to still ensure that there are good profit margins in the event that we are providing, because of the competition faced in the market of music festivals.
Terrorist threats have never been of any great discussion, although this video has left me feeling like we should perhaps review the procedures that are in place.
Thank you
Thank you for your feedback! Although the terrorism threat seems low, the threats of terrorism for the UK has been measured as sever. As our video expresses there is a difficult balance of safety, affordability and keeping the festival atmosphere that must be considered when implementing terrorism preventions. There are some producers that a lot of festivals have in place already for example code words and evacuation procedures in emergency situation.
Do you have these in place at your festivals? What else do you think could be put into place to prevent terrorist attacks and the damage they cause?
It is great that our video has made you aware of this as a current issue and given you the incentive to address the producers at your events.
I think that a well marketed emergency procedure advert, be it in the festival guide it in billboards with a hard hitting message, with familiar themes running through, to remind and deliver familiarity is perhaps the direction to take things.
Thanks again, this has definitely been food for thought
Thanks Sam its great to hear your emergency procedure ideas for the issue. Do you think you will integrate these into your next event plan?
A very well presented and informative video,it certainly makes you think..we assume that measures are in place at events and such like to protect and safeguard us, but are they ? ..Be aware, Be Vigilant, Be safe …
Thank you for your feedback on our video Lynne.
As an event attendee, if you have always assumed that they are in place and the reality is that sometimes they are not.. Do you think they should always be in place, even at the smallest scale events?
Yes I most certainly do .. And yes, even at the smallest of venues,Terrorists do not count square footage, they count the lives they can take. Nowhere however large or small is safe.
Sent from my iPad
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Lynne, again thanks for your comments, do you think that after watching this video could jeopardise your further attendace to these events if you aware if procedures have not been put in place?
As an event manager of a number of small scale UK events, terrorism isn’t a problem in which I tend to consider due to the smaller scale of my events, however having now watched the video blog I am confident that terrorism will be subject I take more seriously for all my future events.
Thanks for making these points clear, they has certainly had an impact on me.
Its great to hear that after our video you will be taking the threat of terrorism into consideration when planning future events. Do you think that all event managers should follow these plans?
A really interesting and thought provoking video. As someone who has moved on from events and now working in a high security government organisation, terrorism and the prevention of it, is a very relevant subject matter. However, terrorism is a difficult topic to focus on. When do we reach a point that our lives and the publics life is changed and effected negatively because we are taking too many procautions? Would your reputation as an organiser be dampeded due to the constant hassle that guests would receive. General security should be monitored and increased dependant on the quantity of guests, a lack of this would be a badly run event. Would a higher paid and more experienced security personnel really prevent a terrorist attack (despite this being an offering on most security companies contracts) my pessimistic opinion is, if there is an attack planned and the government have let it go unnoticed, no highly paid security search will stop the act itself. It is the aftermath that is the problem. But should we be asking the same question for any world dissaster? Have we prepared for the aftermath of a freak earth quake or an infectious disease? It really is a great compilation video and some really good points that do make the listener take a step back.
Thanks for your comments and we’re glad you enjoyed the video. We agree with you that over worrying about terrorism and the culture of fear the media produces can have a negative effect, but is it not important to have plans in place before a disaster occurs other than implementing them after because of an incident?
It is difficult to balance the amount of security and emergency plans that are required without having a negative effect. How do you decide what levels are appropriate for an event? As well as the number of attendees affecting this balance, the guests at the event and their profile as well as the location and timing of the event could be important factors to consider.
As you said it is difficult to predict an attack, however do you think that analysing events and terrorist threats around the world that are happening could help event managers be more aware of possible attacks and therefore help them decide the appropriate measure to take.
Working in a high security organisation after events must be very interesting. What sort of procedures are you responsible for as part of the security at events?
A fantastic video showing the potential risks of creating an event. So many different issues that need to be put into place to allow the event to produce effective security and surveillance. Too many young people are brainwashed and influenced by controlling figures into sabotaging an event. Hopefully this video will make people think twice before overlooking terrorism as a small issue.
Thank you for your comment Dilly, It is really appreciated.
Do you as an individual feel that event managers shouldalways have plans in place to help the prevention of terrorism? Regardless of the event size and costs of the security? Would it make you feel safer when attending events if you knew that measurments are in place?
An interesting topic to think about. Event risk assessment regarding evacuation (eg fire, explosion) might help. It is uncomfortable to think about terrorism when in a crowded environment.
We appreciate your comment Jo. The risk assessments you mentioned will definitely help after an unintended incident, in regards to safety of all guests and employees at an event. As you explained it is uncomfortable to consider terrorism when in a crowded environment, as the inevitable could happen. However is it not important to consider this uncomfortable topic to prevent incident from happening? Understanding the balance of the guest’s safety and experience at an event is essential. Therefore how much security do you feel can be in place without effecting guest’s experience?
A thought provoking video. I tend to think that there will be more preventative measures in place when similar events have seen an attack. Much publicity was given to the anti terrorism preparations prior to the 2012 Olympics, but I am not as aware of the preparations on less high profile events. Maybe, for people like myself who rarely go to major events, it would be good to always somehow make it clear that preventative measures are in place, so that when family members are going to festivals, running marathons, watching sports fixtures, we can rest more easily. The potential consequences of an attack at such crowded events are so distressing to contemplate.
Thank you for your comment, we agree with you that greater preventative measures will be in place for events that have already been attacked, however, is this enough surely every event should be putting these measures in place prior to a disaster? We agree with the fact that knowing procedures have been put in place reassures family members when either participating or attending events. As you mentioned the potential consequences could be fatal, do you think that you will be more aware of the threats at risk when attending events in the future.
Very thought provoking and well presented. I don’t think I personally feel particularly at risk at a small events – perhaps naively I worry more in a big city like London. Although your question about even small events being targetted made me think and perhaps after recent small scale attacks i now would agree most any gathering is a potential target. I hope at any large scale event I attend that the organisers would have both a prevention plan in place and an aftermath plan should an attack take place.
Thank you for taking time to watch the video and share your views Tracey! Small scale events have unfortunately been recent targets, such as the ‘Freedom Of Speech’ debate in Copenhagen. Do you personally think that event managers, regardless of the size of the event should have pro-active plans in place? Or would the high levels of security make your experience less enjoyable?
Personally for the types of events I plan and manage terroism is not an issue which requires high levels of attention, the only issue which would effect this would be delegate travel to countries which are currently experiencing a high threat level, though the communication of this would be through mass media. You raised some very interesting points in your video and they mainly effect large scale events, though also included in these should be large political conferences and large association annual events as the views held by the participants could be opposed by some groups. Overall if you are planning a large scale event the risk planning has to cover so many aspects which do not include terroism. Narcotics, weapons, prohibited items, crowd control and flow planing, magical emergency evacuation procedures. With all this planning in place it’s only an additional process, clause or measurement which has to be added to include terroism in the planning. In response to your highlighted issue of expense of you are already including the expense of hiring and training staff then the terroism ‘clause’ should just be included as extra. The point you raised about culture of fear is very poinient but also very subjective, being proactive as an event planner and having responses ready to deal with any terroism concerns will show preparation to your attendees and potential attendees, the way to deal with it on a guest perspective is have the information there for the ‘worriers’ to cal their concerns and not make a big deal out of it, which therefore may scare the ‘potential worriers’, be discrete in the security measures, have the tools ready but not on display. If you advertise the risk you will create fear, where as you should be proactive with the risk and having the elements in place in a discrete way. Overall I think terroism planning is as essential as fire evacuation planning but adding it onto to your existing policies and training should not be seen as an extortionate expense of your budget and resources.
Thank you for your feedback! You mention working with delegates traveling to different countries, if you don’t mind us asking what types of event do you manage?
The threat level for the UK from an international terrorist attack has been measured as severe in late 2014. Do you think that this might make delegates attending events within the UK at risk not only those traveling internationally?
Yes we agree that large political conferences should be prepared for a terrorist attack however are smaller events also possible targets? For example the freedom of speech debate in Copenhagen was considered a small scale event but an attack did occur in February this year.
For large scale event this could possibly be easily included in their risk assessment and planning process and we believe a lot of large scale events do so. However, for smaller events the high cost of insurance against a terrorist attack may not be feasible.
Thanks for the information on the security measures. It does make sense that as an event manager you should have the tools in place but be discrete with them so as not to create worry and panic for the attendees. Very good point and we completely agree.
You state that including terrorism preventions should not be seen as extra expenses, if this is the case then why don’t all events have a terrorism prevention plan in place or as part of the risk assessment?
As an attendee, the threat of a terrorism attack is not a the for-front of my mind. Despite terrorism being an obvious global threat at the current time, I don’t not beleive small UK festivals to be a prominant target. I do however feel that event managers at the events I attend should take it into consideration and provide the appropriate safety measures and plans incase of such an occurence.
Thank you for your comment Elizabeth, it is interesting to hear your thoughts on this topic and great that it hasn’t hindered your motivation to attend small festivals. From your point of view, do event managers implement the correct balance between attendees’ safety and their overall experience at the event?
Having worked on numerous of events in a management position generally the threat of terrorism has not been at the forefront of security and emergency planning. However this is primarily due to the nature and scale of these events. Having watched the informative video above, this definitely does put a question mark over whether event managers should consider the impact a terror attack could have on any of their events regardless of size. It could be argued that the status of attendees or stakeholders in general influences the decision to include such emergency planning. It is unlikely that increased security measures on small UK events would have a positive impact against terror threats as it is it unlikely to deter the attack however, it could considerably change the experience for the attendees and consequently change the whole image of the event itself. As terrorism becomes increasingly common the current view of event managers ignoring potential threats and therefore not planning for them is highly likely to change, although what can be done that is cost effective and least impacting on experience is yet to be answered.
Hi Max thank you very much for your comment, its great that the video has stimulated your thoughts on the topic. We agree that it is essential to provide event attendee’s with the best experience possible, but would you agree that attendee safety is the most important thing?
We understand your point of view on security measures,
however in the unlikely event of an attack the image of an event may be tarnished if it was viewed that security wasn’t tight enough?
As an attendee to many events, terrorism is never the first thing I look at in regards to whether or not I would attend. I understand the issues surrounding the subject however believe that as an event manager when producing an event you should have done your research into the location as to not endanger your guests. Whilst terrorism can happen anywhere at any time I believe if the correct precautions such as security presence and procedures are in place this wouldn’t eliminate but would certainly cut down any threat to a dangerous situation.
Social media whilst effective I do be leave can lead to negative impacts during and after a terrorist attack, a clear example of this is the Boston marathon bombings were Twitter went crazy releasing statements of what had happened before the police had released any report or evidence. This led to the wrong people being accused and family who weren’t at the race having no idea what was actually going on.
Thank you for your comments Lucy. It is true that an event manager should research where they intend to hold their events, however, within the UK do you think certain areas would be more susceptible to a terrorist attack then others? We agree that a security presence is essential at events such as small festivals; from your experience do you think enough the presence is enough to deter terrorist?
While we agree social media is an effective tool if used correctly, but when an attack occurs do you think people use tools like twitter to be too quick to judge and blame the security teams?
Very thought provoking. Thanks for highlighting the topic.
Thanks for your comment. Has the threat of terrorism ever stopped you attending event?
Very interesting video it does make you think however it would not stop me from attending events such as the Olympics, International sport or other such events. We need to ensure we are aware of the situation regarding this threat but not to let it disturb our attendance
Thank you for your comment Paul, that’s great that it doesn’t hinder your attendance at major events, as although security measures are tighter these are a more likely targets. Do you feel more under threat while attending events recently than before?