Crowds are made up of individuals, each with their own agenda. Individuals form larger groups, which then become joined by a common purpose. This purpose can be celebration and joy but can also be anger, panic or violence. Those attending your event will naturally assume that the event will be safe, well planned and will ultimately meet their expectations. Event organisers can minimise threats to enjoyment and safety by ensuring the safety of the attending audience is a priority over any financial gain.

History has demonstrated that events that are poorly designed, have poor management, ineffective risk assessment or insufficient control measures can have sometimes-catastrophic outcomes. Event organisers can also be faced with other threats, which despite robust planning, sufficient staff levels and effective communication, can turn into potentially dangerous crowd conditions. To address this, contingency planning should include a range of event specific ‘what if’ scenarios that carefully consider a range of circumstances that could have an adverse effect on the crowd, and the actions required to manage such instances.