Music Festivals - V Festival 2011 Add this

G4S Events provides a full range of event security services to the organisers of V Festival, Roseclaim, at Weston Park, Staffordshire. Services include crowd management, campsite patrols, safety and security stewarding, access control, protection for VIP areas and back stage, specialist dog teams and car park controls. All ensuring, through its primary goal, that festival goers to V enjoy a safe and secure festival experience.

Overview

V Festival is one of the UK’s most popular music festivals, welcoming over 85,000 people to the two day event in 2011.

The G4S Events management team have worked with event organisers, Roseclaim, since its inception in 1996, providing 16 years of unrivalled service.

Today G4S Events supplies all the security and stewarding on the Weston Park site through the deployment of 1,600 specially trained personnel. The period of delivery is from the first day of the build to the last day of breakdown covering almost three weeks.

This year the V Festival has benefited from the deployment of G4S’s new specialist Event Tactical Support (ETS) team.

“The new operation of G4S replacing previous police roles worked very well indeed. It was good to see the police paired up with G4S staff as it displayed an increased joined up approach to the management of the safety and well being of our customers showing them that both sides were working closely together.”

Andy Redhead, V Festival Organiser, Roseclaim

The services provided

Held in the grounds of Weston Park in Staffordshire, V Festival caters for in excess of 85,000 people, for one summer weekend each year. To ensure that all attendees have a safe and enjoyable experience, an extensive infrastructure is put in place by the organisers to support this influx of visitors of which security, safety and stewarding services provided by G4S are designed to complement the smooth running of the festival.

G4S's responsibilities include:

  • Over all safety and security provision
  • Safeguarding of all entrances and exit points
  • Patrolling campsites
  • Protection for VIP areas and backstage
  • Stewarding on all stages and in the catering and bar areas
  • Provision of dog teams
  • Car park patrols

Event Tactical Support Team (ETS)

G4S’s new event Tactical Support (ETS) team, which worked closely on-site with police at the venue, providing addition specialist event security and safety management expertise

Challenge

Planning

The festival that visitors attend is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the work and planning that goes on beforehand. G4S Event’s management team work closely with the event organisers, the local police and the local authorities throughout the year to make sure that every eventuality has been prepared for.

G4S develops a festival strategy based on the expected audience profile and the scope and scale of the event to ensure the security, safety and stewarding is appropriate. Factors such as the availability of alcohol and the types of acts being featured at the festival can impact on the staffing numbers and the strategy.

Logistical challenges

At V Festival in 2011, visitor numbers were around 85,000 and the majority of these were camping on-site. Managing this number of people on a temporary site poses some logistical challenges which have to be carefully planned and monitored throughout the festival weekend.

For example, the migration of visitors around the site needs to be tightly controlled. From arriving at the car parks, turnstile control, managing audience numbers in the tents and carrying out campsite patrols, G4S’s priority is therefore safety ensuring everyone feels protected and comfortable but at the same time still giving people the scope to have a good time.

Reacting to the changing atmospheres created by different bands is important so surging and crowd surfing can be dealt with. The delivery of first aid support if and when needed and providing dedicated areas for people to get help across the site is also paramount, as is providing assistance to disabled visitors. Those outside the gates are also considered and the comfort of local residents and the safeguarding of their property is taken very seriously by the G4S Event team.

Preventing the use of drugs and managing alcohol consumption on site is another key part of the security and stewarding operation. Sniffer dogs are deployed as part of the procedure. Careful management of the security in the car parks helps reduce vehicle crime. Vehicle movement around the site is also a key responsibility, as broken down vehicles can cause blockages and pedestrian safety is primary.

Results

  • V Festival, Weston Park, relative to some of the other big UK festivals, now has one of the lowest crime rates
  • G4S Events for the first time deployed its new specialist Event Tactical Support (ETS) team, taking on a number of roles previously undertaken by the police. The ETS team, which proved to be very successful, carried out joint patrols with police officers around the arena, campsites and village area, providing and sharing additional specialist event security and safety management expertise

Testimonials

“G4S’s close cooperation with the police provided an excellent standard of security and safety for this year’s festival goers. The efforts of the G4S team meant we could provide a peaceful and friendly environment ensuring everyone could enjoy great music and everything the V Festival has to offer in a safe and secure atmosphere.”

Andy Redhead, V Festival Organiser, Roseclaim

“Another successful V Festival operation saw crime levels remain low.  This was due in no small measure to the joint working between the police and G4S which this year has gone to a new level of integration. The new Event Support Team from G4S successfully took on a number of the roles previously undertaken by the police as well as carrying out joint patrols with police officers around the arena, campsites and village area. The commitment, professionalism and enthusiasm of our G4S colleagues were of the highest standard and has cemented a strong working relationship that we intend to develop further in the coming years.”

Dave Holdway, Superintendent, Local Policing, Newcastle, Moorlands, East Staffs & Stafford

“Our support at the recent V Festival resulted in a very high level of safety and security, allowing the event to run smoothly, and with a welcome fall in the number of recorded incidents. The experience of our Event Tactical Support team in event and crowd management allowed us to design and deliver safety security solutions with the festival organisers and police that ensured the comfort and enjoyment of all those attending. We are already looking forward to working with the V Festival organisers next year.”

Eric Alexander, Managing Director, G4S Events