Whether they’re glamping in the VIP section, or checking their tents for leaks before they enjoy an exciting summer come rain or shine, festival goers don’t want to have to worry about their safety and security; they just want to have a great time.
And so they should! The festival sector has grown and grown over the past 20 years, now incorporating festivals of all sizes, and including everything from family-friendly events, through to themed and genre-specific festivals, and non-music interests such a food and drink. There is truly something for everyone, and a thriving economy has grown around the festival industry, for both performers and commercial businesses.
For festival organisers, the security considerations are complex and specific to each site and event, but they can be summarised under two key headings:
· Commercial risk
· Safety and protection
Commercial risk
For many festival goers, camping in a muddy field, crossing guy ropes with their (very close) neighbours and sharing a portaloo with a few thousand others is all part of the experience. But even the basic conditions of standard camping tickets come at a considerable cost for most festivals, reflecting the heavy price tag of putting on the event.
And even the face value of the ticket price does not reflect the high value of acquiring a ticket. For some sold-out events, the lack of a ticket is not enough to dissuade determined fans from trying to gain entry; whether that’s to join friends who were successful when the tickets went on sale, or because the ticket price was beyond their budget.
For festival organisers, fence jumping is both a commercial and a safety risk. Protecting the event perimeter can be challenging because festivals are often held in un-boundaried, temporary event spaces, so a perimeter protection solution is required that can deliver the flexibility and robust security required.
At Highway Care, we have a variety of perimeter protection solutions to create a robust, temporary boundary for festivals while enabling safe and effective ingress and egress at controlled locations. Our SecureGuard system is a shallow-anchored perimeter protection solution that can be used to create a ring of steel around the boundary of a festival. It can be installed with fencing and pedestrian portals to deliver a complete solution that keeps un-ticketed entrants out, while enabling controlled access and security/ticket checks at designated entry points.
Safety & protection
Sadly, any large gathering of people is susceptible to the terror threat, which, in the UK, is currently set to ‘substantial’, which means that an attack is likely. Consequently, festivals need to consider the terror threat as part of security planning.
Vehicle as a weapon attacks have become a recognised terror tactic, with attackers using a vehicle to drive into a crowd, injuring people indiscriminately before exiting the vehicle to use other methods to do harm.
Hostile vehicle mitigation systems, or HVM, can help to protect against this risk, protecting areas of the festival site close to vehicular access. At Highway Care, we work in partnership with the event security industry, providing our versatile RB50 and Claw moveable HVM systems through our partner, Crowdguard. We also supply our SecureGuard system, including both steel and concrete barrier, that have been tested to withstand vehicle impacts, along with fencing and vehicle gates, and pedestrian portals. In this way, we can ensure excellent levels of protection, aligned to the specific identified risk.
As an integrated element of a SecureGuard ring of steel or concrete boundary, our pedestrian portals, can also help with additional threat detection and risk mitigation, enabling controlled access and bag/body checks at ingress and egress points to reduce the risk of weapons, IEDs or hazardous materials being brought onto site.
Something for everyone
Whether you prefer sequins or sandals, chicken wings or chickpeas, camping or glamping, festivals are designed to offer something for everyone. Our security range is also ideal for providing a tailored choice that can be matched to any event or location. Talk to our team to find out more.
