Event and concert security: planning and crowd flow

• Venue: capacity, entrances, emergency exits, pinch points, stage, emergency-vehicle access.
• Audience: how many, what age, whether alcohol is served, whether people arrive all at once or gradually.
• Running order: doors, the peak moment, the end; egress can be denser than arrival, because everyone leaves together.
• Scenarios: crowding, a fight, a medical incident, a lost child, bad weather, a power cut, a suspicious object, evacuation.
• For each scenario: who decides, what happens, who is informed.

Greek Law 2518/1997 expressly lists the protection of shows, exhibitions, conferences, competitions and sports events among the services of security companies, together with preparing studies and planning measures for them (art. 1 §1, points δ and η).

• Queues: barriers forming lanes, away from the road and from emergency exits.
• Doors: open early enough that entry is not squeezed into the last minutes before the start.
• Two stages: bag check first, then ticket — or the other way round — but not at the same point by the same person.
• Prohibited items: announced in advance, on the ticket and the invitation, not at the door.
• Refusal: the terms of entry set out in advance what happens if someone does not accept the check, so the guard isn’t negotiating at the door.

Bag and person checks are never improvised. They are carried out only as the law allows and as the venue’s and ticket’s terms of entry set out, and the procedure is written into the post orders before the event.

• Zones: for example public areas, backstage, stage, dressing rooms, press area; each with its own colour or symbol.
• From a list: the organiser supplies a named list; anyone not on it is not accredited at the door.
• Personal: named, ideally with a photo; never lent.
• Checked at every zone boundary: the guard checks the zone, not just that someone is “wearing something”.
• Cancellation: a lost or withdrawn pass is logged and every checkpoint is told.

• Counting: counters at entrances and exits, so you know at any moment how many are inside.
• One-way flows: entry, movement to bars and toilets, and exit don’t cross at a narrow point.
• Clear exits: no stand, no queue, no obstacle in front of an emergency exit; checked on every patrol.
• Front of stage: a barrier, with guards facing the audience, not the stage.
• Information: a PA system and prepared messages for delay, stoppage, evacuation.
• Egress: all exits open before the end; guards where the flow narrows.

How many guards you need depends on the venue, the audience and the points to cover; the logic of posts and hours is explained in how many security guards do I need.

• Before: the organiser and the security company brief the police and emergency services in advance on the plan, posts and contacts.
• Control point: one room with the organiser’s lead, the head of security and, where present, representatives of the police and emergency services.
• Who decides: who stops entry, who halts the event, who orders an evacuation — written down by name.
• Communication: radios with channels per team and shared codes, so a message needs no explanation.
• Handover: any incident that needs the police is handed to them; the guard acts only within the law.

Law 2518/1997 states that security companies’ activities do not affect the competences of the state authorities (art. 1 §4). And every guard must hold a category A or B work licence (art. 3 §1); ask for the list of licence numbers before the event.

• What is logged: incidents, and also decisions — “entry stopped 21:40”, “exit B opened 22:55”.
• By whom: one person at the control point keeps the log; guards report from their posts.
• Incident reports: every serious incident also gets its own report; see what a security incident report contains.
• Debrief: what went well, what didn’t, what changes in the plan — written down within a few days.

OVIT records patrols, incidents and reports on the Guardly platform, one live picture the organiser sees too. Posts and procedures are written in advance into the post orders. Request a proposal for your event.