When you are hosting any kind of event, it is your responsibility to ensure the safety of your guests. However, event safety is often one of the last factors that event organisers think about, meaning that it often gets a much smaller part of the budget than it deserves allocated to it. Any time a large number of people are gathered together there are security and safety threats to consider, which is why it is so important for event organisers to take event safety and security seriously.
Assess the Security Risks
When it comes to security needs, these can vary depending on the type of event you are planning. The first step to ensuring safety and security at your event is to determine the type of risk that you are dealing with. Consider who is attending your event, who is hosting it, what the context of the event is, whether or not any protests might be expected, if there is going to be media present, and who is speaking or performing at the event. It’s also important to consider the venue itself and if it has any security vulnerabilities that will need to be secured.
Come Up with an Emergency Plan
Before the event, it’s important to hold a meeting with your security team and any other staff who will be working the event to develop an emergency response plan. The main aim of this plan is to come up with a procedure that everybody is aware of and will follow if a disaster occurs. Your plan should include the locations of any safe areas, where staff should meet and how they will communicate in the event of an emergency, how attendees will be directed during an emergency situation, and the different ways to evacuate the event. Come up with plans for any eventuality including terror attacks, fire, and other emergencies.
Hire Safety Equipment
There are various types of equipment you can hire to ensure that you follow all health and safety requirements. For example, crowd barriers are an important part of health and safety for events to ensure that crowds are kept under control and minimise the risk of issues like people getting trampled or hurt in other ways. You can find various health and safety equipment options to hire for your event including barriers, signage, and COVID-19 safety equipment from Number 8 Events. They are experienced experts in health and safety for events.
Screen Your Staff
Sadly, many security risks at events come from the inside of the event itself. Before hiring anybody for the event, it’s important to carefully screen them to make sure that they do not have any malicious intentions. Make sure that background checks are run and passed before taking anybody on to work at the event. For staff that might have access to large sums of money, you may want to consider running a credit check. Introduce your staff to one another before the event in order to make it easier to spot anybody who might be posing as a member of staff on the day.
Events can be a lot of fun, but they also pose safety and security risks. These strategies can help you arrange a safe, secure event for everybody to enjoy.
