Thursday, June 11, 2015

Crowd Control for Outdoor Events

Summer is here, and with summer comes a large increase in outdoor events. There’s a huge variety of events that take place in summer, in all sorts of venues. Whether you are hosting a small church festival or a large, international music festival in the middle of the city, you need the proper items to control crowds, and you need to manage the crowds in an appropriate manner.

We’re here to offer solutions. Keeping track of crowds in these conditions isn’t easy, but it is doable when you go in with the correct strategy.

The first step is to find out exactly how much space you have, and have a rough estimate of how many attendees you are expecting. That will dictate how you move forward. The venue also makes a big difference. If you are holding an event in a street, you need a lot of coverage so no vehicles interfere. If it is in a park, there must be clear signage so attendees know where exactly they are to go.

Another important aspect that must be quickly decided is how to establish a perimeter. This is needed to keep track of who is coming in and who is coming out. Some venues already have a clear perimeter set up, but many do not. For those that do not, you have to determine what type of perimeter you plan to use. A popular option is to use some sort of fencing or barrier, which can easily be purchased. You may also choose to have personnel positioned around the perimeter, whether it is volunteers or security. This perimeter is important for security, so be sure you have a plan.

Speaking of planning, you need to have a plan for managing your crowds in case of safety concerns. Consider what may go wrong, no matter how big or small. What if there is inclement weather? There would be a plan in place for alerting attendees and informing them of where to go. What about other things, such as a child getting separated from their guardian? There needs to be specific locations to deal with these sorts of situations, with safe crowd control measures in place.

You must also have a security plan in place. Are you planning to hire security? Work with local or state agencies? Have that established far in advanced. Give them whatever information you can. This includes information about the event, expected attendance, different events being held at the event, and more.

And don’t forget that you need to keep your guests happy. Your crowd control efforts should serve their purpose, but they should not make guests feel unwelcome. Guests should not be afraid of security or feel threatened walking into your event. You want to make this event fun and memorable for your guests.


A lot goes into planning an outdoor event, and this is only some of it. We hope these tips will prove useful, and that your next outdoor event will be a success!

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