Pretoria - There is generally a lot of non-compliance during events at stadiums and that is a serious concern from a safety point of view.
This was said by the managing director of a public safety company, Ian Fourie, who was a panellist at the Stadium and Facilities Conference in partnership with John Deere Financial Services hosted at SuperSport Park Stadium this week.
Fourie was speaking on risk management in events, which explored compliance with the relevant legislation governing events management.
He said it was important that event organisers complied with regulations “by making sure that crowds and events are safer and the public is looked after”.
“Regarding sports and recreation, the act says that you need to consult with the police, consult with the city and get the city permit in place,” Fourie said.
He emphasised that prior to the events it was critical that organisers appoint a safety officer and a licensed security company.
“Medical companies must also be in place. You need to make provision for emergency exits and plan your event layout and structures. You need to have engineers involved if you are building any sort of structures. You need to have crowd management and traffic plans in place to manage traffic and parking. Make sure you are adequately prepared to host an event.”
He told Pretoria News that there was a lot of non-compliance.
“I think that guys who take the time to comply and engage with the city get good support. We are lucky that Joburg and Pretoria have strong joint operation commands,” he said.
SuperSport Park Stadium manager Jabulani Kubheka talked about the new trends in hosting of events and their associated risks. He said: “The precincts outside this event venue are becoming an increased risk for us.There is a space between parking and also the venue itself. That space is an opportunity for other elements to come in and do harm.”
For example, he said, pickpocketing sometimes occurred, and people driving around could just stop, grab cellphones and flee.
“So, it is a risk that is being discussed with the City of Tshwane to make sure there is enough illumination in those areas. And also with security clusters to man those areas. There is a new risk where environmentalists are using events as a platform to make their voices heard. They will come in and disrupt events …” Kubheka said.
Pretoria News