Hogmanay 2011

Hogmamay New Year celebrations 2011

Overview

The Edinburgh Hogmanay Street Party is one of the largest events of its kind in the UK taking place from 30 Dec to 1 Jan. The Street Party is an Edinburgh City Council event organised and promoted by Unique Events. The G4S Events team has been working closely with Unique Events since the inception of the party nineteen years ago. The initial aim of the event was to provide a more formal environment for local revellers and visitors to the city to celebrate the New Year together safely and it is this value which still lies at the heart of the event today.

Over the years Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations have grown to include a wide variety of events and performances across the New Year period. The Street Party itself has thrived and now features live bands and DJ’s, a ceilidh, laser shows and a world class fireworks display. In the days before and after the Street Party, a host of other cultural and family orientated events are held across Edinburgh including a Torchlight Procession and a range of theatre and dance productions. G4S’s Events team has many years of experience in providing security and stewarding services at outdoor events and their health and safety knowledge has been core to the planning and introduction of new performances

Services

Approximately 80,000 people attend the Edinburgh Hogmanay Street Party every year and, in order to ensure the safety of all attendees, more than 400 G4S staff work together with the event organiser and emergency services to provide a solid infrastructure for the event.

Specific G4S responsibilities include:

• Safeguarding of entrance and exit points
• Ticket checking
• Manning first aid points
• Safeguarding of all front and backstage areas
• Protection of VIP areas
• Securing the fireworks site
• Assisting with road closures
• Crowd Management

The G4S Event team have good local knowledge which is key to the high quality service provided at the Street Party. The management team and many of the supervisors and staff work at the event every year and are all fully briefed before the event so that they can provide a consistently high standard of service. By making revellers feel welcome, answering questions and guiding them safely through the evening, G4S employees play a vital role in creating the relaxed and fun atmosphere that has made the event famous.

Challenges

The arrival of 80,000 visitors to the city centre over the space of a few hours necessarily involves tight security controls. Advance planning helps the management team to decide on appropriate numbers of stewards and how they need to be deployed around the site over the course of the event. For example, larger numbers of staff may be required on entry points during peak influx times and then redeployed to seal off the fireworks area later on. This flexible and vigilant management of the site ensures potential problems are spotted early and contingency plans can be made. The aim is to help people enter and move around the site in a safe and controlled manner without impacting on the party atmosphere. On the day of the Street Party, the site is divided up into more manageable areas so that each area has a G4S Event manager who can communicate information via radio to the event control centre. This makes the dissemination of orders and information as quick as possible to staff across the site.
Planning
Public safety is the primary concern of the organisers and the G4S team working at the event. During the months of build up to the Street Party, the G4S Event team attend all the pre-event safety and planning meetings with the event organiser and the local authorities. G4S also maintains a close working relationship with emergency services so that any threats to public safety can be pinpointed before they become problems.

Training

All the stewards who work at the event are working towards the completion of the NCFE Level 2 award in Event Stewarding and a substantial proportion of the staff hold a SIA Door Supervisor’s license. The training involved helps individual members of staff understand the wider health and safety implications of the event and aids them in making decisions within their working area. The SIA Door Supervisor’s course teaches participants to deal with conflict situations and at an event where so many people come into close contact this can be invaluable. Trained employees can help diffuse antagonistic situations which often arise out of simple misunderstandings. It is also important to have trained team members dealing with the bar areas within the event as underage or excessive drinking can be potentially problematic. The provision of trained and knowledgeable staff gives peace of mind to the bar owners as they know they have support on hand if needed.

Results

The Edinburgh Hogmanay Street Party is famous for its relaxed party atmosphere the world over. A substantial proportion of the visitors each year are not immediately local and the structure of the event facilitates their enjoyment of the New Year in the city centre. Experience of similar events has allowed G4S to help plan the site effectively; making it easily navigable so visitors can make the most of their time from arrival to departure. It also allows the city to gain as much as possible from its visitors, acting as a superb advert for Edinburgh by giving out a safe and friendly vibe and encouraging tourists back year after year. Many local businesses support the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations as the event helps them maximise their business over the festive period. The tickets for the Street Party sell out quickly due to its excellent reputation and G4S prides itself on having been a key part of the operation planning since inception and helping build such an internationally renowned event.
Eric Alexander, managing director of G4S Events, commented:

Eric Alexander, Managing Director of G4S Events, commented: “An event of this scale is not without its challenges and this year’s Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh were no exception with more than 80,000 attendees and inclement weather throughout. However, our careful planning with the festival organisers and Police meant that revellers were provided with the highest level of safety & security possible ensuring they could make the most of the fantastic entertainment on offer and enjoy the party in the right atmosphere.

“G4S Events is now in our nineteenth year of working with the City of Edinburgh Council to provide security support at Hogmanay. It is a long standing relationship built on trust and understanding and we look forward to working with them further to meet their safety and security needs this year and beyond.”
Client Testimonial
Pete Irvine, festival director at Unique Events, added: “As one of the world’s most famous outdoor events, it is vital that we have a security and safety management team on board who we can trust to make sure that visitors enjoy the festival safely.

“We have a longstanding relationship with G4S and look forward to working with them on what promises to be another fantastic event”