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Security security security

I first started working security at concerts 46 years ago, when I cut my event teeth in the Empire Theatre, Edinburgh. Prior to that I was a member of the audience.

Crucially, it was the experience of being a ticket buyer that gave me a unique and very early perspective – I was only 16 years old – on how audiences should be managed, and a sense that something had to change and improve.

Fast-forward to the present day and it would be a failure if there was not an acknowledgement that many individuals, some who are no longer with us, have given their entire careers and sacrificed much of their personal life to create a safer and more secure environment in which people can go out and enjoy themselves, and also to work and perform at events.

Many of those same individuals understood not only the greater good of sharing, collaborating and exploring new methods, but also of obtaining input from the eventgoing public, which was about seeing how we do our job – not introspectively, but from the view of that 16-year-old live music fan.

The past strides taken towards improving standards of planning, tactical awareness, operational delivery and customer expectations were, and still are, very much an experiential process, where good and bad lessons learned are then applied so that future incident and disaster can be avoided. I think this is best characterised by paraphrasing the words of Spanish philosopher, George Santayana: “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

There can be no secrets where public safety is concerned

The importance of analysing and prioritising the range of risks and threats underlines what Lord Kerslake said in his contribution last year in the eponymous Manchester Arena bombing report: that “we cannot afford to be complacent,” which is no less equal to Lord Justice Taylor’s comment in his Hillsborough Disaster report that “complacency is the enemy of safety.”

From what I saw at the Event Safety and Security Summit (E3S) in October, there is no sense of complacency among event security professionals today.

If there is any looking back, it is about preparing for the future. It is also about analysing current methods and trends with a critical eye, but also seeking out new theories and keeping pace with what technology has to offer while still aiming to share best practice, and in general to collaborate.

The latter, of course, can bring into play the debate about competition and commercial interest. However, there can be no secrets where public safety is concerned. Any agile business or service provider knows that quality in delivery of a ‘safe and secure event,’ from which there are no injuries or fatalities, and the prevailing public consciousness is about a good time experienced and not about security presence, is where the greatest amount of positive impact will be made on both the consumer and client’s ‘feelings’ about their own safety.

So what does the future look like? Technology is most certainly going to be a large part of how events are managed, where safety, security and customer service are assured and integrated.

‘Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it’

The threat of internal terrorists perhaps calls into question the need for more robust employee screening, vetting and supervising to minimise the opportunity for someone to become hostile within the organisation or event.

Of course, threats are not just focused around people, but increasingly our events are reliant on multiple systems that are vulnerable to cyber attack. The world is moving at pace towards the Internet of things, the advent of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Biometrics, facial matching and recognition, and utilising open-source intelligence are of great benefit, but create in themselves an asset-protection need. Therefore, it is essential to have a clear plan that addresses what security controls are required for each critical system, and contingencies.

Events are really about a gathering of people, usually for the purposes of seeking enjoyment and entertainment, and the physical and psychological factors that influence their actions. The industry has advanced quite considerably in the last few years and quite rightly is embracing technology, seeking out new ways to train, educate, plan, manage and communicate.

Yet we must never forget that we are dealing with people and all of the human factors arising from excitement, anticipation, fear, expectation and cultural influences that are ever present and always changing.

 


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E3S showcases the human ‘heart’ of event safety

The annual Event Safety and Security Summit (E3S) took place yesterday (8 October) as experts dedicated to keeping venues, events and festivals safe descended on the Congress Centre in London for a packed schedule of panel discussions, keynote interviews, quick-fire presentations and interactive activities.

“Safety and security are the top priority for AEG and for the industry as a whole,” commented AEG’s senior vice president and chief security officer Matt Bettenhausen, as he took to the stage to deliver the opening address to a packed room of delegates.

Information sharing, technological innovations, training programmes, anti-terrorism strategies and crowd management techniques were all discussed at the conference, but it was the people behind the projects that came out as the heroes of the day.

“In the end, our most important resources are our people,” said Bettenhausen, explaining his mantra of enlisting, entrusting, empowering and encouraging, assuring every person in the chain of command has the knowledge, confidence and skills to act. “This is what allows me to do my job,” stressed Bettenhausen.

People also formed the centre of the closing remarks of this year’s E3S, delivered by Sir Paul McCartney’s director of security Mark Hamilton.

“People are at the heart of everything we do as safety and security professionals,” said Hamilton, noting that his experience as a young concertgoer gave him a “unique perspective on how audiences should be managed”, as well as an innate sense that something should be “changed and improved”.

“In the end, our most important resources are our people”

45 years on, the security veteran stated that the industry looked “better informed than ever” and commended the collaborative spirit and distinct lack of complacency of all those attending.

Bettenhausen commented on the success of wider industry, noting that the business is in rude health and referencing the ever-increasing demand from fans to attend events, as seen by the recent example of Glastonbury Festival’s recent rapid sell-out.

For Bettenhausen, this demand to attend events, especially before line-ups are even announced, is based on trust – trust both in the event organisers and in security teams and their capacity to keep fans safe and secure.

Terrorism, sadly, remains a serious threat for the events industry, albeit a low probability one, and was discussed by the AEG chief, as well as by representatives of Sportpaleis Antwerp, who recently conducted a major simulation of a terrorist attack in their Belgium arena.

This kind of activity paves the way for thorough planning, another key aspect of ensuring safety at live events. “An ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure,” former Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger likes to tell Bettenhausen, the AEG security chief mentioned casually.

Other E3S 2019 highlights included engaging discussions on the psychology and management of crowds, the safeguarding of vulnerable people and the threat of cyber incidents.

“We must never forget that we are dealing with people here, and all of the human factors arising from excitement, anticipation, fear, expectation and cultural influences”

The haphazard nature of much security training was a topic that cropped up throughout the day. Andrew Tatrai of Australia’s Aces Group presented his research on how to train crowd managers, explaining how technology can be used to “mimic human intuition” and make crowd management more measurable. Tatrai has now developed a crowd managers decision support tool, using technology to visualise crowd dynamics, predict behaviour, quickly identify risks and mitigate potential issues.

Crowd control has been a focus for Festival Republic in recent years, said the company’s health and safety events organiser Noel Painting, speaking on the ‘Dealing with high risk shows’ panel. “The key thing for events at a major London park is dividing the audience up so we have access to them,” Painting explained, referencing “incidents” at a festival this year, saying changes “certainly” needed to be made, with the introduction of more metalwork to ensure more effective crowd management.

The erratic nature of crowds was explored by Hamilton, as he concluded E3S 2019.

“We must never forget that we are dealing with people here,” concluded Hamilton, “and all of the human factors arising from excitement, anticipation, fear, expectation and cultural influences that are ever present and always changing.”

 


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MGM to pay $735m to Route 91 shooting victims

Hotel operator MGM Resorts International has reached a settlement of between US$735 million and $800m with the victims and survivors of the 2017 shooting at Route 91 Harvest festival (22,000-cap.) in Las Vegas.

According to Las Vegas law firm Eglet Adams, the final amount of the settlement is dependent on how many claimants come forward.

MGM subsidiary Mandalay Corps owns the Mandalay Bay hotel, from where gunman Stephen Paddock killed 58 and wounded a further 422 people attending the open-air country music festival in October 2017. A further 800 festivalgoers were injured in the panic following the shooting.

Hundreds of law suits have since been filed against the hotel giant, which also owns the venue at which the festival was taking place.

“Today’s agreement marks a milestone in the recovery process for the victims of the horrifying events of 1 October,” says attorney Robert Eglet, whose firm represents almost 2,500 victims of the massacre.

“While nothing will be able to bring back the lives lost or undo the horrors so many suffered on that day, this settlement will provide fair compensation for thousands of victims and their families.”

“While nothing will be able to bring back the lives lost or undo the horrors so many suffered on that day, this settlement will provide fair compensation for thousands of victims and their families”

“We hope this resolution will provide some sense of closure to our clients,” adds fellow attorney Mo Aziz, a partner at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Azi, which represents more than 1,300 victims and survivors. “In this era of mass shootings, this settlement sends a strong message to the hospitality industry that all steps necessary to prevent mass shootings must be taken.”

MGM Resorts chairman and CEO Jim Murren, who says the deals represents “good corporate citizenship” on his company’s behalf, says, “our goal has always been to resolve these matters so our community and the victims and their families can move forward in the healing process.

“This agreement with the plaintiffs’ counsel is a major step, and one that we hoped for a long time would be possible.”

MGM Resorts had previously filed its own litigation against the victims in a bid to avoid liability. This settlement does not act as an admission of liability.

An IQ timeline of terror attacks at live music events and festivals predating the Las Vegas massacre is available here.

Anti-terrorism efforts at live events will form one focus of discussions at the Event Safety and Security Summit (E3S) on 8 October.

 


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Security Solution Showdown: keeping events safe

Running a live event entails many security risks, be it keeping track of who exactly is attending or working at a venue; ensuring safety protocols are effectively implemented and staff suitably trained; managing crowds; or even dealing with lost property complaints.

Many safety aspects have been handled without any technological aid in the past, allowing for human error and often relying on guesswork or snap decision-making. In anticipation of their presentations at the Event Safety and Security Summit (E3S) on 8 October, IQ profiles some of the industry professionals who believe their solution is the next big thing…

 


Paul Foster, OnePlan

OnePlan is the world’s first centralised event-site-planning platform. It allows anyone to map, draw, plan and procure every aspect of their event site and operations.

The platform saves event planners time and money, generating consistent professional plans, reducing stress and, crucially, improving safety and security. OnePlan facilitates easy calculation of crowd density and evacuation rates by using intuitive space planning and measurement tools. These numbers can then be agreed upon and enforced.

A multiuser functionality lets event organisers share plans with security personnel and law enforcement at the click of a button, ensuring key safety and security stakeholders have full visibility of the event as plans develop.

This gives plenty of opportunity for identifying and minimising risks and threats as they emerge. Accurate real-time information about the event allows safety and security teams to plan and deliver their operations in the most effective way.

Interpol has recognised the value of a centralised event- planning system and is now using OnePlan to support immersive training for major global sporting events. With other law enforcement organisations showing a keen interest in the platform, and global events adopting the system, OnePlan is raising the bar for event safety and security.

OnePlan gives plenty of opportunity for identifying and minimising risks and threats as they emerge

Matthias Immel, Deep Impact

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of today’s biggest buzzwords. But the buzz is justified: AI will significantly change all areas of life – including the event and live music industry.

Deep Impact is passionate about AI and its possibilities. The company, based in the city of Winterthur, Switzerland, is developing state-of-the-art, AI-based applications. Its face-recognition solution is one of the most powerful worldwide.

Banks are using this software for running background checks on new customers, whereas stadiums and football clubs use it to identify troublemakers during a match.

Deep Impact has the ambition to cover several aspects of security around an event, starting with accreditation. Staff working at an event like a festival are a potential risk – as the temporary termination of Rock am Ring showed two years ago

The software provides a solution by performing an automatic background check (based on open source intelligence and/or blacklists from state authorities) of all event staff, as well as a verification of the person at the accreditation centre to check it is in fact the individual on the list.

Deep Impact can also be used to identify troublemakers and to analyse social media communication in a defined geo-fence, for example, the area around a festival site or arena.

The software analyses the communication in this fence related to security-focused keywords. When one is used on various social media channels, the system creates a notification. It doesn’t matter which language the message is written in, it will be captured and instantly translated via AI algorithms.

In addition to mitigating security threats, this tool can also monitor communication around black market ticket sales near a certain venue or event location.

AI will significantly change all areas of life – including the event and live music industry

Edo Haan, Safesight

Netherlands-based Safesight is a software application that ensures employees, suppliers, partners, volunteers and other parties know and execute their responsibilities, checklists, safety plans and protocols.

When incidents do occur, Safesight helps an organisation to take predictable, efficient and safe actions to control the situation.

Safesight software originated from the work that the company’s owner, Edo Haan, enacted as safety officer at music festivals. As well as being used at events such as Mysteryland, Pukkelpop and Zwarte Cross, the software is also implemented at stadiums and convention centres, including Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Borussia-Park in Germany, and RAI Amsterdam and Rotterdam’s De Kuip in the Netherlands.

Using Safesight software, event organisers are able to optimally inform and instruct all those involved in an event. For example, they can assign tasks or disseminate information in accordance with safety protocols to specific employees at any given moment. This could be to the security team, technical production staff, stage management or the cleaning department.

Via a centralised dashboard, management has an accurate overview of the people that have – or have not – completed their tasks. If an individual, or a whole team, lags behind, this is visible in real time, and management can take action accordingly.

Finally, using a cloud-based logbook available via a browser or through the mobile app, all information is collected and, if necessary, quickly shared with the event stakeholders. This helps those in charge to have a complete overview of what is happening in and around the event. The logbook also acts as an important tool for collecting a valuable database for management.

Safesight software originated from the work that the company’s owner, Edo Haan, enacted as safety officer at music festivals

Ian Kerr & Jennifer McLean, Raven Controls & ID Resilience

Security consultancy ID Resilience and management system Raven Controls are the creations of former policeman Ian Kerr. Kerr’s experience in security stems primarily through his ten-year career with Police Scotland where he worked in emergencies and counterterrorism, planning, designing and delivering contingency exercises for major events, political conferences and tier-one counterterrorist activities.

Having found a passion in resilience, Kerr set-up resilience consultancy business ID Resilience in 2015. Specialising in testing, exercising and crisis management consultation, Kerr and his team have gone on to work with a large number of arenas, stadia, venues and major events across the UK and internationally.

Through the work of ID Resilience, weaknesses in current market solutions for recording and managing issues became evident, with most venues using traditional processes such as office-based systems or outdated handwritten logs. These methods are time consuming, prone to human error, and do not facilitate clear communication, which is essential when it comes to safety and security.

Raven Controls is an integrated real-time issue management system that provides unparalleled levels of situational awareness, ensuring the right information is available to the right people at the right time. Kerr and his team continue to work closely with industry leaders to provide venues and organisers with the protection and accountability they deserve. Raven has been used at the Ryder Cup 2018, European Championships 2018, the Scottish Event Campus and Celtic FC, among others.

Raven Controls ensures the right information is available to the right people at the right time

Rory Cole, NotLost

NotLost is a simple online tool that enables organisations to modernise their lost-and-found process.

Despite being the norm within many organisations, antiquated lost-property systems are time-consuming and frustrating for staff. Not only is a good (or bad!) lost-property experience memorable for customers but it also acts as an unwelcome distraction for the busy security staff who often deal with it.

Mountains of items, endless phone calls and long queues are an all-too-familiar sight for anybody managing lost property at live events. These issues are exacerbated by analogue systems and poor process.

In 2017, a group of event experts recognised this and set about creating a 21st century solution. The result is NotLost, an innovative cloud-based platform that enables organisations to manage their lost property with speed and ease.
Found items are registered in under ten seconds using image recognition software, customer enquiries are handled promptly using keywords and images to search across the platform, and a simple one-click lost/found comparison helps staff to quickly identify and return items.

The platform is proven to save organisations between 50 to 80% of time spent managing lost property, freeing up valuable staff capacity for other important tasks. NotLost also allows venues and live events to deliver an excellent customer experience in this often-overlooked area.

With the O2 Arena on board as NotLost’s first client, the team is now proud to be working with many of the UK’s leading organisations and venues, including the SSE Arena Wembley, AEG Presents and Broadwick Live.

Despite being the norm within many organisations, antiquated lost-property systems are time-consuming and frustrating for staff

Chris Kemp, Pascal Viot & Gerard Van Duykeren, The Safe Project

The Safe Project, an Erasmus+-funded initiative aiming to improve safety and security training across Europe, consists of two programmes.

The first is for those at, or aspiring to be at, management level in the event, security and crowded space industry, while the second is for operational purposes and focuses on the practical elements of security and crowd management.

The programmes have been created to provide both subject-specific knowledge and skills that relate directly to the workplace. Those teaching the programmes are practitioners that can provide experiential, as well as theoretical underpinning for those participating.

The programmes cover six major aspects of managerial delivery and provide a wide range of subject areas and skills. During each module the participants study theoretical concepts, engage in case studies, and work in groups on scenario-based learning to ensure that they absorb both skills and knowledge. Each module has an assessment, which takes place during the programme.

The project is practical, applicable and specifically designed to be used by trainers in classroom scenarios to teach event professionals about the event environment. It comprises: ‘learning in the round,’ which captures the fluid relationships and engagements between the different actors in the work-based learning process (participant, specialist, and facilitator) in both the design and delivery phases.

The course brings together the perspectives of these three key actors, and the best practice in organisational culture is captured and perceived in a manner that would not be possible by any one of these actors individually.

A work-based learner no longer reflects upon workplace issues and challenges from a single aspect, or even ‘in the main,’ but now in the round. In a fully realised work-based learning process, the learner is fully engaged in that learning process.

The Safe project is practical, applicable and specifically designed to be used to teach event professionals about the event environment

Andrew Tatrai, Dynamic Crowd Management

Andrew Tatrai has taken 35 years of practical experience in major event management and crowd security back to school, researching technological pathways to replicate the human decision-making process involved in crowd management.

It has long been accepted that crowd management expertise resides within the realm of professionals making subjective judgements on how and when to intervene to keep crowds safe. The human intuition that drives crowd management decisions is a form of pattern recognition, that is, the memory of good and bad experiences assist a crowd manager to avoid or encourage situations for the preferred outcomes.

Working in accordance with the work of Israeli-American psychologist Daniel Kahneman, Tatrai believes the need for machine learning and observation to enhance decisionmaking is clear. People have limitations in assessing risk, which far exceed mere lack of experience, bias and poor observation.

Combining feature recognition, machine learning, data science modelling and visualisation, it is now possible to measure the changing mood of the crowd on a massive scale.

When modelling large volumes of data, patterns emerge and predictability is possible. This is quicker and more accurate than even the best current human crowd managers, and importantly provides evidence of a change in measurement of crowd metrics. Testing and trials have shown the model is responsive to management intervention.

This research has resulted in the digital measurement of crowd density in actual persons per square metre, the measurement of the velocity of a moving crowd and the estimation of crowd mood by feature extraction and data visualisation. The net result is a product software programme that can provide better crowd metric measurements for control room, police assessment and decision support.

E3S takes place on 8 October at the Congress Centre, London. More information is available here.

 


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Event Safety Management Association launches

The Event Safety Managers Association (ESMA) launched today (30 September) as a new entertainment trade body dedicated to event safety.

Co-founded by event safety specialists Steve Blake, founding director of Storm4Events, and Chris Hannam of health and safety consultancy StageSafe, ESMA aims to become the major independent voice of UK live event safety managers, consultants and advisors.

The association will cover all areas of health, safety and welfare at festivals and live events, including production and site management, crowd management, structures, emergency and contingency planning, fatigue, fire safety, security, medical and first aid, stewarding and counter-terrorism.

ESMA will also help to influence legislation around these areas and develop industry-wide working standards, as well as providing mentoring and training opportunities to those working in festivals and live events.

“The competence of event safety advisors and consultants operating within the industry has become a major issue,” states ESMA co-founder Blake, stating that the association will carry a list of members to indicate “their level of qualification, and the experience and responsibility signified by their level of membership.”

“The competence of event safety advisors and consultants operating within the industry has become a major issue”

“The formation of such an organisation is now long overdue and is needed as an industry voice to promote high standards of safety management in an area where live event organisers and promoters are often confused, misled or oblivious about selecting properly qualified and competent safety advisors for their events,” says fellow ESMA co-founder Hannam.

“While we fully respect the work of IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health), IIRSM (International Institute of Risk and Safety Management), NCRQ (National Compliance and Risk Qualifications), NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) and the British Safety Council and others, these organisations just do not fully cater for the needs of the live events industry safety managers,” continues Hannam, adding that ESMA will “involve and work with” the other associations “wherever possible”.

The committee has already been put in place for the first 12 months to oversee the formation of ESMA, which will operate as a non-profit organisation.

Membership is now open to individuals, companies, organisations’ and charities, with all encouraged to join and take part.

Live event safety will be discussed at the Event Safety and Security Summit (E3S) on 8 October in London. Walk-up delegate passes will be available on the day for £220.

 


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Festivals pledge facial recognition ban

Organisers of music festivals including C3 Presents-promoted Austin City Limits (ACL), Live Nation-owned Bonnaroo, independent UK event Shambhala and Pitchfork Music Festival have stated they will not use facial recognition technology at their events.

Other festivals to commit to the ban include Live Nation’s Bass Canyon, Latitude 38 Entertainment’s Bottlerock, Excision’s Lost Lands, USC Events’ Paradiso, Madison House Presents/Insomniac’s Electric Forests, and a handful of independent events in the US, such as Wanderlust, Sonic Bloom and Lucidity.

A representative from Live Nation, which bought into biometric identification company Blink Identity in 2018, told Digital Music News that facial recognition technology is not currently used at any of its events, with any future use of the tech being on a strictly opt-in basis.

The push for a ban on biometric identification technology, which has been introduced at some events in the past few years for security and ticketing purposes, is being led by digital rights advocacy group Fight for the Future, who believe the technology is discriminatory and an invasion of privacy.

“We just launched a new scorecard showing where major music festivals stand when it comes to using invasive and racially biased facial recognition technology on fans”

“We just launched a new scorecard showing where major music festivals stand when it comes to using invasive and racially biased facial recognition technology on fans,” explains Fight for Future’s deputy director Evan Greer.

“Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Electric Forest and others have committed to not using biometric surveillance, while Coachella, SXSW, and Riot Fest have refused to make the same promise.”

The campaign has garnered the support of artists including Tom Morello, Speedy Ortiz, Amanda Palmer and Atmosphere, who have all spoken out against the use of the technology at their concerts.

Matt Bettenhausen, senior vice president and chief security officer at AEG, last year commented that he was “not there yet” on the benefits of facial recognition technology as a security feature.

Bettenhausen will share his thoughts on live event security at the Event Safety & Security Summit (E3S) at London’s Congress Centre on 8 October, where the role that facial recognition plays in event security will be discussed in more detail. To register for the event, click here.

 


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Anti-facial recognition campaign gains artist support

A coalition of musicians including Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello and band Speedy Ortiz have joined a campaign to oppose the use of facial recognition technology at live music events.

Biometric identification technology has been used at live events over the past few years, in a bid to speed up entry into shows and detect troublemakers.

Digital rights group Fight for the Future is leading the charge against the technology, which it deems inaccurate, invasive, discriminative and dangerous.

On Monday (9 September) the group launched a campaign to mobilise “artists, fans and promoters to speak out against the use of facial recognition technology at live music events.”

“Music fans should feel safe and respected at festivals and shows, not subjected to invasive biometric surveillance,” writes Fight for the Future, warning that the use of the technology at live events could lead to deportation, arrest for minor offences, misidentification and permanent data storage.

“Music fans should feel safe and respected at festivals and shows, not subjected to invasive biometric surveillance”

The group argues that there is “no evidence” that the technology will keep fans safe, adding that “mass surveillance is largely ineffective at preventing violent crimes.”

Artists including singer Amanda Palmer, hip-hop duo Atmosphere, rock band Downtown Boy and Slovenian producer Gramatik have all voiced their support for the campaign, as well as the team behind Summer Meltdown, an AEG-promoted festival.

However many, including event security platform Vertus Fusion, state the technology could be integral for enhancing the safety of fans.

A hidden facial recognition camera was used to detect stalkers at Taylor Swift shows in 2018 and the technology was used to screen guests at this year’s Brit Awards. Live Nation-backed biometrics company Blink Identity recently began to roll out its facial recognition system in a pilot programme for Manchester City football club.

The role that facial recognition technology plays in event security will be discussed at the Event Safety and Security Summit (E3S), which takes place on 8 October at the Congress Centre, London.

 


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Five killed in Algerian rap concert crush

A stampede at a concert by Algerian rapper Soolking in Algiers has left five dead and many more injured, reports local news outlet TSA Algerie.

Soolking, real name Abderraouf Derradji, was performing at the August 20, 1955 stadium in the Algerian capital last night (22 August), which has a seated capacity of 10,000. Reports estimate attendance to have been between 25,000 and 30,000.

According to Algerian journalist Akram Kharief, “four small entrances” were serving the concert. “This caused a stampede and people fell as they pushed to get inside before the start of the concert,” Kharief told reporters.

“There were so many people at the concert, that I’m not surprised an accident happened”

Journalist Linda Chebbah, who was at the concert, told BBC’s Newsday that “there were way too many people for this stadium.”

“On the pitch, people were jostling for space. There were so many people at the concert, that I’m not surprised an accident happened,” said Chebbah.

The concert went ahead as planned following the incident, with a 30-minute delay, and was broadcast live on Canal Algérie. Derradji has yet to comment on the incident.

Industry experts from around the world will discuss ways to ensure safety at live events, including effective crowd management techniques, at the Event Safety and Security Summit (E3S) on 8 October.

 


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AEG security chief to give E3S 2019 welcome address

The Event Safety & Security Summit (E3S), ILMC’s one-day meeting dedicated to safety and security in the live music and events industries, has announced AEG’s senior vice-president and chief security officer as the welcome address for E3S 2019.

Matt Bettenhausen will open proceedings, sharing some thoughts and setting the tone for the third edition of the conference, which returns to London’s Congress Centre on 8 October 2019. Last year’s welcome address was given by Lucy D’Orsi, deputy assistant commissioner for London’s Metropolitan police, while the Rt Hon. Ben Wallace MP, UK secretary of state for defence, gave the inaugural address in 2017.

At AEG, Bettenhausen has overall responsibility for security, safety and preparedness for the company’s domestic and global operations and facilities. Prior to joining the live entertainment/sports giant, he was a member of California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cabinet for nearly six years and also served as chairman of the California Emergency Council.

Additionally, Bettenhausen has held many roles in national US and state security organisations, such as the National Homeland Security Consortium, National Governors Association’s Homeland Security Advisors Council and National Emergency Managers Association.

Matt Bettenhausen has responsibility for security, safety and preparedness for AEG’s domestic and global operations and facilities

After a successful sophomore outing in 2018, the third E3S returns to London’s Congress Centre this autumn. The event is organised by the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) in close collaboration with the the European Arena Association, the UK’s National Arena Association and other leading theatre and venue organisations and security companies, and welcomes delegates from companies including AEG, the BBC, Feld Entertainment, Festival Republic, FKP Scorpio, NEC Group, Roskilde Festival, Showsec, SMG, Wembley Stadium and WWE.

The first sessions for E3s 2019 were announced earlier this summer.

Discounted summer rate passes are still available for the conference, priced at £150 + VAT (ends 6 September). To register click here, or for more information about E3S, visit e3s.world.

 


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E3S 2019 reveals first sessions

Organisers of the third Event Safety & Security Summit (E3S) have revealed the first two conference sessions for the one-day October event.

After a successful sophomore outing in 2018, E3S returns to London’s Congress Centre on 8 October 2019. The event is organised by the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) in close collaboration with the the European Arena Association, the UK’s National Arena Association and other leading theatre and venue organisations and security companies, and welcomes delegates from companies including AEG, the BBC, Feld Entertainment, Festival Republic, FKP Scorpio, NEC Group, Roskilde Festival, Showsec, SMG, Wembley Stadium and WWE.

The first tabletop session of E3S 2019, ‘Protective Security (Counter-Terrorism) Considerations at Events’, sees Peter Dalton, counter-terrorism (CT) security coordinator and serving police chief inspector, encourage delegates to consider current CT threats to events, and identify how event organisers can conduct vulnerability assessments and, from this, identify protective security options.

E3S 2019’s first two sessions tackle counter-terrorism considerations and cyber security

Drawing on current event management, incident command and counter-terrorism principles, the session will highlight how all professional event management teams should consider protective security into planning, delivery and ongoing review.

Meanwhile, the workshop ‘Cyber Security at Live Events’ will be run by a senior figure from the British government’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), who will outline practical steps that event organisers can take to identify and manage the cyber threats to their event. The second half will focus on NCSC’s ‘Exercise in a Box’ online tool, which helps organisations test their capability to respond to a cyber-attacks.

Further sessions will be announced in the coming weeks.

Discounted summer rate passes are still available for E3S 2019, priced at £150 + VAT. To register click here, or for more information about E3S, visit e3s.world.

 


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