Brian Sims examines campsite security at Download Festival in his final article in a series of exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews.
One very specialist element of security and health and safety management at outdoor music festivals is that which revolves around the campsite — or, in the case of Download 2013, all nine of them. These campsites more or less encircled Donington Park — the famous old racetrack in the heart of the East Midlands — between 14-16 June.
The nine campsites were colour-coded yellow, pink, red, green, brown, orange, white, blue, and gold. At their epicentre was The Village, with everything a camper would need and more, including food outlets, late-night entertainment, bars, market stalls, funfair, comedy tent, football pitch, ATMs, merchandise stands, supermarket, and shower/toilet facilities.
Security specialist Showsec was contracted by Download promoter and management company Live Nation to look after security at these sites, which effectively became “home” across three days for something in the region of 70,000 fans. This task represented a first for Showsec at Download.
Given that there were nine separate sites to secure and safeguard, then, the logistics of this exercise generated some impressive statistics.
The Showsec team for this part of the overall event security operation was led by Alan Wallace, working in tandem with Live Nation’s campsite manager, Mick Roberts. The nine sites required 600 Security Industry Authority-licensed security operatives in addition to 60 supervisors. Those staff would cover six 24-hour days (including time either side of the three-day festival itself as the campsites were open from noon on Wednesday 12 June through until the same time on Monday 17 June). The night shifts would be larger in terms of manpower.
Customer-focused
The main aim was to render the campsites a safe environment characterized by a strongly customer-focused approach. The latter is an important point. If fans feel safe and secure wherever they’re staying on site then they’ll better enjoy their immediate surroundings and, by extension, the event as a whole.
There’s always the potential for petty theft (from people’s tents, for example). On that basis, Showsec is always thinking about ways to reduce the amount of crime at outdoor events at which its skills are brought to bear. Showsec’s Alan Wallace:
In advance of the festival, we would always encourage fans to leave any valuables they don’t need at home. Our advice when they’re on site is that they place items such as money, tickets, credit cards, and mobile phones in zipped pockets or otherwise use secure money belts. We also recommend that fans don’t bring large amounts of cash with them — only what they need. There are ATMs on site.
Wallace and his team also suggest that festival-goers “post code” the property they do bring to the event such that it’s identifiable. Wallace added:
In terms of their cars, fans should make sure all doors and windows are left secured, and any items like satellite navigation systems, stereos, CDs, and mobiles kept out of sight. We’ve introduced onsite lockers for storage of smaller personal items.
Checking every fan and their property as they enter the site (and during the event) is extremely important. It’s a condition of entry, in fact, and no one is permitted on site without a valid ticket or pass.
Certain items are not allowed on the campsites. These include blow torches, camp fire materials, glass, gas cookers, and gas cylinders as well as any petrol-fueled stoves, all of which could easily present a health and safety risk.
Fireworks, knives, smoke canisters, laser pens, and weapons of any kind are banned from both the campsites and the main arena. Indeed, the event management team always reserves the right to refuse any items like these deemed inappropriate or unsuitable to bring into the event.
“We also tell all of the campsite dwellers to make sure they’re aware of their nearest fire point, emergency exit, and first aid point,” added Wallace.
At the end of the three-day festival, Download had witnessed 150 bands performing across five stages. Umpteen thousands of festival-goers were left happy that they’d seen their heroes and had a great time. And that was all thanks, in part, to planned, expertly executed security and safety management onsite, in turn realizing minimal incident numbers.
The perfect end result for Live Nation and Showsec. Roll on Download 2014…
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You know, I dont think many people know the amount of training and planning it takes to make an event like this successful. You only hear about failures of security to respond or prevent an incident in the news. I think the staff of Download 2013 should be recognized for the effort that they have put forth to ensure everyone in attendance had a safe and comfortable experience.
I agree. And going further, think about the scale of events across the country, Europe etc. So many huge festivals like this that usually go swimmingly.
You are right. Striking the balance between being present to assist/ protect, but still allowing people to have fun/ not feel overrun by security is difficult. Festival conditions aren’t always the easiest to work in either.
The mud and the smell can be a real challenge. Lots of people are going to be very merry and it must be hard to manage the fine line between fun and high spirits and anti-social behaviour.
Finding that balance can be difficult sometimes, mostly because this is a very subjective matter. Regardless, I agree with what you’re saying. If there’s a very strong presence of authority, then some people might feel uncomfortable and not really enjoy the event as they normally would.
For me security has then failed. It has to be proportionate and be seen to be a reassuring presence, not a negative one. If security is getting too much in the way then goodwill turns against it, and then what do you have?