Planning

As well as factors such as the feasibility and management of an event, the planning stage is a very important and crucial element of a successful event.

You must have plans in place to respond effectively to incidents, crowd management, health & safety, or any other incidents or emergencies that might occur at an event.

Your planning needs to be in proportion to the level of risk presented by the activities.

You will need to:

• Consider the key risks to the event and those people present.
• Using the resources available to you onsite, develop emergency procedures to be followed by staff and volunteers in an emergency, e.g. a fire or structural failure.
• Consider staged responses and contingencies to deal with incidents and situations as varied as an entertainment act cancelling at short notice, severe weather, or the unavailability of key staff in your team.
• You will also need to consider your response to more serious emergencies, including major incidents that will require the help of the emergency services and implementation of their regional emergency plans (which may not be specific to the event).

For all but the smallest events with low risks (or those in fixed venues with established procedures), you need to draw up and discuss your plans with the police, fire and rescue service, ambulance service, emergency planning, and, for fixed premises like stadiums and arenas, the venue management.

The detail and complexity of any discussions will need to be sufficient and proportionate to the risks involved.

We can help with all aspects of planning for your event, and you are welcome to contact us for an initial discussion and advice.