Manage health and safety when running events

When planning an event, health and safety should be considered from the outset. As an event organiser, it is you responsibility to make sure your staff and visitors are kept safe throughout set up, breakdown and the event itself. Your duties include:

• taking steps to reduce risks
• co-ordinating work activities and contractors
• ensuring staff competence
• monitoring and reviewing health and safety

Planning your event

During the planning stage of holding an event you should:

• Appoint a competent person for health and safety - this could be yourself, a staff member or someone from outside your business.
• Write a health and safety policy for your business - it should set out who does what, when and how.
• Carry out a health and safety risk assessment - this will help you decide what safety measures you need to put in place. 

Event risks

There are number of risks to consider when planning an event:

• Fire safety - it is your responsibility as an event organiser to control the risk of fire at your event. See fire safety and risk assessment.
• Electrical safety - you should ensure that any electrical equipment at your event is properly selected, installed and maintained. See guidance on portable appliance testing (PAT).
• Equipment safety - ensure that any equipment you use, including tools, structures and computers, is suitable for the job and well maintained. See safety of workplace machinery, equipment and tools.
• Falls from a height - you should reduce the risk of falls, particularly during site construction. See work safely at height or in a confined space.
• Waste - you must make sure that any waste is disposed of safely. Take care that waste does not accumulate and cause an obstruction. See duty of care for business waste.
• Noise - you must take precautions against your workers or the audience being exposed to dangerous levels of noise.

Staff, contractors and training

It is important to involve your workers in health and safety planning and management. You should consult your employees on health and safety to help you spot and control risks.

You should provide health and safety training to everyone working for you, including contractors. All workers should be trained on hazards and risks, measures to deal with risks and how to follow emergency procedures.

When selecting a contractor to work with, you should make sure they:

• show an understanding of health and safety risks
• can demonstrate their staff are adequately trained and competent
• have enough resources to carry out the work
• can prove they have previously carried out work safely and successfully

Download a brief guide to using contactors (PDF, 282KB).

Monitoring and review

Throughout the event, it is your responsibility to monitor health and safety compliance. Use your risk assessment as a basis for checks.

After the event is over, it is a good idea to review any problems or successes. This will allow you to make improvements for future events.  You can include other organisations as part of this debrief. This could include your local council, the police or fire service - if they were involved in managing aspects of the event's health and safety.

As an event organiser, it is your duty to ensure that the site or venue of your event is safe for workers and visitors.

Site and venue design

When you are deciding where your event should take place and how it should be set up, you should consider:

• audience size
• type of visitors you are expecting, eg young people, families
• activities taking place at the event
• site access and infrastructure

Once you have considered these factors, you should visit the venue or site to see if it is suitable. Look at the audience capacity and number of fire exits. Ensure there is suitable access for vehicles and equipment.

Decide if the site is suitable for the number of people you expect. This includes space, load-bearing of the floor and access to and from the site.

Consider how weather will affect the site. For example, heavy rain could cause flooding or high winds could knock over temporary structures.

Keep these factors in mind when you design a site plan. The site plan will include where you will position facilities and structures, eg signage, stages, exits, fencing and toilets. The plan will help you and your contractors contract the site.

You should be aware of the risk and safety considerations of temporary structures such as marquees, seating and stages.

Crowd management and transport

Consider how close the venue or site is to public transport links, parking, major roads and local services. Make sure that any work vehicles can get safe access to the venue.

Crowds pose the risk of crushing between people and structures and trampling underfoot caused by rushing or surging. There are risks relating to thrown objects, climbing on structures and aggressive behaviour.

Venues can pose risks to crowds such as:

• tripping or slipping due to spillages or obstructions
• structure collapse
• vehicles
• hot cooking equipment and risk of fire
• crowd congestion and cross flow due to overcrowding or poor site design

You should consider crowd movement and behaviour as part of your health and safety risk assessment.

Use barriers to help influence the flow of crowds, prevent visitors climbing on structures and shield them from hazards. See crowd management.

Facilities

You must provide employee welfare facilities such as washing, changing and toilet facilities. Staff need somewhere clean to eat and drink during breaks. See workplace welfare facilities and healthy working environment.

Consider the facilities you will need to provide for visitors:

• Toilets - ensure there is enough toilets for the number of visitors and that they are serviced to keep them operational and hygienic.
• Access for people with disabilities - take to steps to make sure the activities, attractions, paths and toilets can be accessed by disabled visitors. 
• Catering - make sure all caterers are registered with their local council and gas, fire and food safety are considered.
• Water - it is good practice to make free drinking water available on site.  The Public Health Agency provide advice to event organisers who require a temporary water supply. 

You should put plans in place for how you will respond to incidents or emergencies at your event. First, you should use your health and safety risk assessment to identify the key risks. Then you should create a plan that outlines your procedures for handling the emergency.

What an emergency plan should include

Your plan should address the following:

• getting people away from danger
• dealing with injuries and casualties
• securing property and assets
• working with the emergency services

Your plan should put procedures in place for the following:

• raising the alarm
• keeping your visitors informed
• onsite response to emergencies such as fire
• contacting and working with the emergency services
• crowd management
• evacuation, including visitors with disabilities
• first aid and medical assistance

You should ensure that all workers at the event are aware of emergency produces. The plan should outline who is responsible for implementing procedures and the role of staff.

Incidents and emergencies

If the incident is under control and the risks have been reduced to a tolerable level, your event performances and activities can start again. You should consult with any relevant organisations, such as the emergency services.

If an incident is declared an emergency by the emergency services, your staff and resources will be under the police's authority. This may apply to the entire event or one part of it.

Evacuation

Emergencies may require you to quickly move your visitors away from danger. You should ensure your event site has clear, unobstructed escape routes. You will need to decide on a 'show stop' procedure to end performances and activities and communicate the evacuation process to visitors. You should decide on a safe place (sufficiently far away from danger) where visitors can be moved to. Other things to consider include:

• signs
• lighting
• arrangements for disabled visitors
• doors and gates

When planning your event, you should get in touch with relevant organisations. You may need to continue communicating with these organisations for their advice and help with health and safety matters.

Local authorities

You should get in touch with your local council regarding:

• whether you need to apply to a Safety Advisory Group
• your health and safety responsibilities, including risk assessments and emergency planning
• food hygiene, if food is going to be sold or prepared
• an public entertainment licence, if your event includes music

 Find your local council in Northern Ireland.

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)

You should inform your local police team about your event. Include information about the number of visitors you expect and the site layout. The PSNI can advise you about:

• crowd control
• public order
• emergency access
• traffic management
• parking

Fire brigade

You should contact your local Fire and Rescue Service for advice on:

• fire safety
• contacting the emergency services
• crowd control and traffic management in an emergency
• emergency vehicle access
• fire safety precautions
• fire-fighting arrangements

First aid

As part of your risk assessment, you may decide that medical provision will be needed at your event. Voluntary first aid providers include St John Ambulance (NI) and Order of Malta.

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) for the area should be informed of large events.  They will be responsible for establishing a triage (casualty assessment) centre in the event of a major incident and deciding the hospital to which any casualties will be taken.

Insurance

You could be held accountable for the costs of any injuries damage that occurs during the event. You should insure yourself against this with public liability insurance.

If you are using a contractor, you should ensure they have their own public liability insurance and that they comply with any policy terms and conditions.  

Planning is important for making health and safety a priority at your event. Follow these key tips for running a safe and well-managed event: 

1.  Start planning well ahead: The sooner you start planning your event the better. This will give you plenty of time to get any licences or permissions you need and properly prepare for health and safety. See event health and safety: planning an event.

2. Carry out a risk assessment: This is one of the most important parts of preparing for an event. Your health and safety risk assessment helps you identify and take steps reduce risks.   

3. Plan for emergencies: With large numbers of visitors gathered in one place, it's essential to plan for incidents, emergencies and evacuations. Your plan will outline how you will get people away from danger, deal with injuries and work with the emergency services. See event health and safety: planning for emergencies.

4. Manage traffic: Consider how you will manage the flow of traffic before, during and after your event. You may need to hire car parking attendants or organise remote car parks and shuttle buses.

5. Manage crowds: Use signs, barriers, security staff and good site design to ensure your visitors can move safely around your event. See event site and venue safety.

6. Work with other organisations: There are certain organisations that you should inform when planning your event and communicate with throughout. These include your local council, the PSNI and your insurer. See event health and safety: important contacts.