Tony Nichol’s Post

The article below paints a disturbing picture of how people's safety has been handled. Several names pass by of persons with little to no knowledge of crowd safety but are responsible for it and do not know what they are doing. Sadly, this happens with some regularity in event planning: people are responsible for something they do not understand. Somehow, miraculously, most of those events go fine, but not because of the high quality of (crowd safety) planning. Prof. Dr. G. Keith Still, therefore, calls it "Problems lying in wait," which refers to problems in planning that wait for the right trigger to strike mercilessly hard during the event. Would you board a plane if you knew the pilot was incompetent? If your answer is 'no', why do we accept individuals being responsible for tasks they are incompetent at at mass events? Regarding crowd safety responsibilities, the lack of proper qualifications, diplomas, experience and demonstrable performance should be a red flag for event organisers, relevant authorities, advisory services and licensing bodies. And, of course, for the person in question: don't take on such an assignment or say that certain issues are over your head. We can prevent such tragedies together if we want, but only if we all take responsibility. Ps: Kudos to the event organisations that take crowd safety seriously and invest in it!👌🎉 #crowdsafety https://lnkd.in/eradVFWv

As the summer festival season kicks in, NPB Companies understands the importance of attendees’ well-being, especially in the scorching heat. Staying hydrated is not just a matter of comfort; it’s a crucial aspect of maintaining health and enjoying the event. Here are some practical tips to help fans stay cool and hydrated while enjoying the vibrant atmosphere of summer festivals. https://lnkd.in/gChX5pju

An investigative collab with CBS/CBS Chicago...we spent weeks looking at street festival permit data after finding an interesting trend...many festivals submit substantially lower crowd estimates than what's advertised online. A few examples: Taste of Randolph 2022’s permit had 9,000 people vs. 100,000 advertised Southport Art Fest 2024’s permit said 900 people vs. 30,000 advertised Windy City Hot Dog Fest’s 2024 permit said it would have 1,500 vs 40,000 advertised We dove into the data to figure out the story behind these discrepancies. What we found? Underestimating crowd numbers put attendees at risk as required safety plans are created using the estimation on the permit application. Read more below... https://lnkd.in/gjm2q8hF

In the latest addition to my Festival Blog series for HEL's I've written my top tips and advice for staff when it comes to packing for a festival, based on my experience. Even if you're a seasoned festival-goer, the insights may offer valuable reminders, plus I've created a downloadable packing checklist 📋✅ You can read the post and download the checklist here: https://lnkd.in/erd4tKG2 I'd love to know your thoughts, any top tips you swear by, or if you think I've missed anything!

Live 5 WCSC: Here's Your Guide to the 51st Summerville Flowertown Festival

Festival Terminology can be hard to keep up with, especially for the public sector. The industry is always evolving and isn’t always consistent. For this reason, I keep an ongoing list: some old, some new, some borrowed, some company specific. Term of the week: HOUSE This one is borrowed from theatre production and refers to the guest viewing area. House Left/Right: the left or right of center from the guests’ perspective while viewing the stage. Front of House (FOH): used loosely to describe any area accessible to the guests. It’s often used to indicate the production mixing board located in the middle of the viewing area but can be used in reference to any structure. The Mixer is a common point of reference when an incident takes place within the bulk of the crowd. For this reason, I suggest using “Front of House Mixer” to avoid confusion and delayed response. Back of House (BOH): also flexible and indicates areas not accessible to ticketed guests. This one can be confusing for the public sector and I avoid using it. It requires further detail in its usage (i.e. BOH of the Slushy vendor or stage). Why not say behind the vendor or Backstage to avoid confusion? It also makes describing the area at the far end of the house hard to indicate without confusion; a good alternative, under these circumstances, is the word “showfield.”

Festivals are over, and now it’s time to shake off the sweets and get back into production mode! Here’s my plan to get back on track with some extra energy: Refocusing the Lens: 📷 Both literally and figuratively – I’m taking time to assess our current projects, find new angles, and bring fresh creativity into our videos- – it’s time to pick up where we left off and turn those sparks into full-blown flames. Let the Creative Juices flow: 🌊 Festivals recharge our minds. Catching up with the team, exchanging new ideas, and talking about all the festive moments that brought fresh inspiration. Use that boost to brainstorm fresh ideas, or pitch that concept you were putting off! Revisit Goals and Deadlines: 🥅 With only a couple of months left in the year, there’s so much to accomplish! I’m setting up mini-milestones to make it count. Setting up goals is the only way to achieve what you want in the long run, and deadlines are just the future dates for your achievements. Reconnecting with Clients: 👩🏫 It’s all about checking in, aligning on year-end goals, and bringing that festival warmth into our partnerships. Back in the studio and ready to make some cinematic magic! How are you shaking off the festive season and diving back in?

How to turn a farm into the world's greatest music festival? Of course, it demands a huge amount of money, people and efforts. But the return is absolutely worthy, for the producers, the sponsors and specially for those who build this event or get the ticket to enjoy it. From the perspective of a music lover, I personally think that a festival is a celebration of life for many reasons, starting from the intense emotions and the life-changing experience that it can be. But also because a festival is also a great opportunity for people who: - Build the infrastructure. - Prepare the food and deliver the drinks. - Provide security for musicians, technicians and festival goers. - Offer transportation and accomodation, among other services. This video shows how the Glastonbury festival ("Glasto") is built in 26 days, and also part of its history, from the first edition in 1970 as the "Pop Folk & Blues" festival with nearly 1000 attendants, until today, with over 400 workers and 210.000 attendants. I have not attended many festivals, but I do follow them and dream with enjoying some ones with my kids. Check the best 9 rock festivals from the link in comments (use your browser's translation tool), Which one have you seen in person or would love to go? #musicfestivals | #musicindustry | #musicbusiness | #musicbiz | #livemusic | #music | #musicmarketing

Springtime is the kick-off of the festival season. Check out this interesting read on how the Glastonbury Festival impacts the local economy. How do YOU measure impact? https://lnkd.in/gu4BW2St #festival #article #economicreport

The absolute cheapest way to attend #Sundance Film Festival. (From my brain with no assistance from AI, thank you very much.) ▪️ 20 second version: ⚪ Go to Salt Lake City, stay in Salt Lake City and attend screenings only in Salt Lake City. Stay 3 nights, beginning on 1/27/2025 or 1/28/2025. ▪️ 3 minute version: ⚪ Housing There are hostels , Airbnb and motels in SLC. Gambler? Look at housing 2-3 days before arrival as people cancel plans and comes open at the last minute. ⚪ Transportation Every morning, lots of empty Ubers head over "across the mountain" (about 40 minutes) to Park City from SLC every morning. If you want to go to Park City, its cheaper to stay in SLC and uber back and forth each day than to stay in PC. ⚪ Flying to Salt Lake City Gambler? Wait until 2-3 days before the trip to use the hotwire.com function where you don't know the route your flight will take or when it leaves, you just know you'll get from your city to #SLC on the day you indicate. ⚪ Food Show up with a backpack half-full of high-protein snacks from Aldi. Stay at a 2 star hotel in SLC with free breakfast. ⚪ Screenings $50 for online access to watch all the shorts. ⚪ Panels and Parties Use Eventbrite and meetup to find #festival-adjacent panels and #parties. ⚪ About Me Like you, I've been hemming and hawing about whether to attend Sundance FF in January. It's iconic! In addition to stumbling upon it in the 90s (I met William H. Macy in a hallway!), I attended in 2020 (as an invited "guest" of Sundance) and 2023 as a civilian. I have figured out some ways to pay less than the average festival-goer pays. I'm a longtime budget-traveler but establishing my extensive cred to you in that field is for another post. For now, I hope my tips for attending Sundance help you out. Got additional tips or suggestions? Please share this so budget-minded folks can cobble together their own trips to this unique festival.