Press Releases
Festival and Stadia Certificate a Roaring Success
The Certificate in Festival, Stadia and venue Safety held at the Centre for Crowd Management and Security Studies in High Wycombe were an unqualified success. The Certificate workshops were held over a two day period in lat February hosted at Missenden Abbey and the Mojo Barriers Education and Training Centre in High Wycombe. Delegates from nine different countries attended, and the cohort comprised a range of industry professionals from festivals across Europe, the BBC, the TUC and indoor venues in the UK. The first day included a session on staff training issues and benefits presented by Mark Hamilton followed by a session by Patrick Jordan and Chris Kemp focusing on pressure at concerts and the socio-psychological interface taking place between the crowd manager and the audience at festivals and events.
Andy Murphy examined risk and safety management focusing on changes in legislation. Nick Eade then covered areas of working with people with disabilities, the challenges associated with this and the problems faced by event and festival organisers focusing on facilities and access. Research conducted jointly by Attitude is Everything and the University was covered identifying best practice and limitations. Practical sessions were included in order to engage the participants. In addition to this question and answer sessions were held through-out the day in to enable participants to engage in dialogue and exchange ideas and thoughts. Mick Upton concluded the day with a presentation regarding ingress and egress issues focusing on evacuation times and experiences.
The second day was held in the Mojo Barriers Education and Training Centre examining barrier pressures and pit training sessions were delivered by Mick Upton. Tony Ball covered staff placement, positioning and aspects of staffing within a festival scenario. Practical elements were also an integral part of the day enabling those attending to integrate with others and share experiences from across Europe. Feedback was extremely positive from all those who attended the event and such is the demand that another Certificate programme that one will be arranged shortly.
