How to Successfully Prepare for a Large-Scale Event in the UK
Delivering a large-scale event in the UK requires careful planning, strong leadership, and a clear focus on safety. Whether you are organising a festival, concert, sporting event, or public gathering, effective preparation is essential to protect attendees, staff, contractors, and volunteers while ensuring the event runs smoothly.
Successful events are built on structured planning, proportionate risk management, and clear communication. Below is a practical guide to preparing for a large-scale event in line with recognised UK safety expectations and best practice.
Establish Clear Safety Leadership and Planning
Strong safety leadership should be in place from the earliest stages of event planning. Roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined so everyone involved understands who is accountable for safety decisions and actions.
This includes identifying who is responsible for overall safety management, risk assessment, contractor coordination, and emergency response planning. For complex events, safety responsibilities should align with existing organisational health and safety policies.
Understanding the full scope of the event is critical. Factors such as event type, duration, location, expected audience profile, and attendance numbers will directly influence the level of planning and control required. As the scale and complexity of an event increases, so too does the need for more detailed safety management.
A written event safety plan should be developed early and reviewed throughout the planning process as details evolve.
Carry Out Robust Risk Assessments
Risk assessment is a legal requirement and forms the foundation of effective event safety planning. The purpose is not simply to produce paperwork, but to identify genuine hazards and put sensible, proportionate controls in place.
A robust risk assessment should consider:
What hazards could reasonably cause harm
Who may be affected, including attendees, staff, contractors and the public
How serious the consequences could be
What measures are needed to reduce risk to an acceptable level
Key areas to consider for large-scale events include crowd behaviour and movement, slips and trips, temporary structures, weather conditions, vehicle movements, fire risks, and contractor activities.
Attendance forecasting is particularly important. Crowd density, arrival patterns, peak times, and exit flows must all be considered to ensure the venue can safely accommodate the numbers expected.
Risk assessments should be treated as live documents, reviewed and updated as plans develop and new information becomes available.
Engage Early With Key Stakeholders
Early engagement with relevant stakeholders is essential for large-scale events. This includes venue owners, land managers, local authorities, emergency services, and any advisory groups involved in public safety oversight.
These stakeholders can provide valuable insight into local risks, regulatory expectations, and practical considerations that may not be immediately obvious during internal planning.
Contractor selection is equally important. Anyone providing services such as stewarding, security, medical cover, staging, or temporary infrastructure must be competent and experienced. Clear expectations should be set, and contractors should be provided with relevant safety information to ensure a coordinated approach.
Develop Clear Emergency and Incident Plans
No matter how well an event is planned, incidents can still occur. Emergency planning ensures that if something does go wrong, the response is calm, structured, and effective.
Emergency plans should set out:
How incidents will be identified and escalated
Who is responsible for decision making in an emergency
How staff and contractors will communicate during an incident
Evacuation procedures and routes
Arrangements for contacting and supporting emergency services
Plans should be proportionate to the size and nature of the event and should take account of potential scenarios such as severe weather, fire, structural failure, crowd incidents, or medical emergencies.
Where possible, emergency procedures should be tested through briefings, walk-throughs, or scenario discussions prior to the event.
Design a Safe Venue and Site Layout
Good site design plays a critical role in preventing incidents and managing crowd movement. The layout should support safe arrival, circulation, and departure of attendees while allowing emergency access where required.
Key considerations include:
Entry and exit capacity and positioning
Crowd flow routes and pinch points
Clear signage and wayfinding
Separation of vehicles and pedestrians
Adequate welfare, medical, and rest facilities
Site plans should be shared with key stakeholders and referenced within safety and emergency planning documents to ensure consistency across all teams.
Train and Brief Your Team
Everyone working at the event has a role to play in safety. Staff, volunteers, and contractors must understand the risks associated with the event and what is expected of them.
This includes clear briefings on:
Their specific responsibilities
How to report concerns or incidents
What to do in an emergency
How to communicate with supervisors and control points
Well-briefed teams are more confident, more observant, and better able to respond effectively if conditions change.
Manage Safety on the Event Day
On the day of the event, active management is essential. Conditions can change quickly due to weather, crowd behaviour, or operational pressures.
Effective event day management includes:
Monitoring crowd density and movement
Maintaining clear communication across teams
Reviewing emerging risks and adjusting controls where necessary
Ensuring plans and procedures are followed consistently
Following the event, a structured debrief should be held to capture lessons learned and identify opportunities for improvement. This feedback is invaluable for improving future events.
Final Thoughts
Preparing for a large-scale event in the UK is a significant responsibility. It requires early planning, clear leadership, proportionate risk management, and strong coordination between all parties involved.
By taking a structured approach to safety and embedding it into every stage of planning and delivery, event organisers can create environments that are not only compliant, but genuinely safe, resilient, and enjoyable for everyone involved.
