Introduction
This article does not attempt to discuss or compromise all the safety and security procedures concerning crowd management at open air concerts. It is simply an outline of the duties of one steward over a 24hr period, as he goes about his designated tasks at the front of the stage area. This is a personal interpretation of the cycle of events during a complex crowd management operation and not a document on operational policy.
A second section to this article is in the planning stage. It will describe the psychological and sociological factors concerning crowd behaviour and management at open air events.
4.00am
The alarm goes off and I'm out of bed within the minute. After a quick shower and shave I get into the gear that will keep me together for the next 24 hours. Black water proofed boots, black vest, jeans, wollen hat and bum bag. This small bag holds the wet weather suit, some shortbread biscuits,chocolate and a half litre water bottle. I know that over the next 24 hours there will be quite a few drops in my blood/sugar levels so this compact sweet food will stretch me out between the meal breaks. I also pack a notebook, a couple of pencils and a torch.
While the breakfast is brewing, I prepare some food to eat on the 2-3hr journey down to Slane Castle. Seems like a lot of preparation but it will be 24 hours before I return home. If I don't get it right at this stage, the whole day will be a drag and I will not be able to give the job my best shot.
4.30am
The coach leaves on time.
8.00am
We are on the outskirts of Dublin city, at the entrance to Slane Castle. There are at least 2,000 people who have queued up waiting for the gates to open at 10am. Some of these people have been here since 7am.
8.30am
We congregate at the stables in Slane Castle to be issued with wet weather high visibility jackets and the written safety/security brief.
9.00am
We all meet at the Entrance to Slane Castle for a full safety/security brief and the initial deployment. There will be at least two designated tasks that day. First, we will spend the first two hours deployed across the open arena to meet the fans on their initial rush in. Second, as the crowd builds up throughout the day and it's profile changes, in order to meet that change, the tasking of the stewards must be dynamic and well coordinated.
10.00am
The entrances open and there is an initial rush of the fans to get to the stage area. The stewards are deployed across the open arena in order to slow down the rush and establish their presence for the first time.
There is a privileged area between the front barriers and the stage. This area is called "The Pit" and it has a standing capacity of 1250 people. The first 1250 fans to reach this area are issued with a coded arm band. This allows them free access to and from this area for the whole day.
10.30am
The initial rush is over and all 1250 arm bands have been issued. The area known as "The Pit" is now deserted, the lucky few have had a good look around and are now availing themselves of the amenities around the arena. Some have even decided to sit on the slopes of the arena and get a good view of the supporting groups before moving into "The Pit" again to see their favourite acts. Because "The Pit" area looks deserted, people are still rushing down to the security barriers looking for an arm band.
Other people have arrived just as early but are content to select a good vantage point on the slope to wait for the show to begin. When questioned about their choice they state that they do not want to get up close to the stage and the compact crowding. They state that it is possible to see just as much on the wide screens and hear just as well from the amplifier system dotted round the arena.
Thank you Gavin, Lisa, Lorna and Peter for this information.
The area in front of the stage barriers is filling up steadily, the front row is made up of 200 people and is now six deep. All the stewards are moving round their designated areas establishing their presence throughout the audience and stopping and solving minor problems before they escalate. Establishing a rapport with the audience at this stage will make their work a lot easier later on.
12.45pm
The audience is building up steadily, there are approximately 40,000 in the arena area now. The first group, DARA, is now on stage and the audience press forward to see them. At the front of the stage the body heat generated within the crowded audience is stifling. There are banks of fresh water taps to either side of the stage. Because of the heat generated within the crowd, these taps are in constant use.
The hard labour of the steward really starts at this stage. There are seven distinct groups of people who will be giving the remainder of the audience problems now. These are:
Crows
Stewards have to be deployed at the start of the day to pre-empt this problem. They are tasked to cover the base of the generator and spotlight towers in order to deter "Crows" from perching on top of these for a bird's eye view of the stage.
Surfers
This occurs when individuals are lifted aloft and lie on their backs above the crowd. Because everyone is facing forward it is easier to feed this form of parasite forward in order to get them off your head.
Inevitably these individuals will come down on the weakest link, young girls who are unable to support their weight. They usually land either head or feet first on the face of some poor unfortunate, causing severe facial injury in some cases.
In other cases, people who are overcome by the extreme body heat generated within the crowded audience will have to be surfed forward out of the audience to the First Aid tent located to the side of the stage. The genuine cases are soon sorted from the joy riders by the stewards who greet them at the front of the stage area.
Piggy Back Riders
At some time, individuals will want a better vantage point, to escape the stifling heat or just to take photos. This can be done from a friend's shoulders. The consequences of this behaviour can be just as dangerous as surfing if the rider comes down face first into the audience in a dead faint.
Pyramid Builders
Through a mixture of bravado, boredom, drink, exuberance and total stupidity, some groups think it's fun to build pyramids. A group of 8 will gather in a tight circle, four will climb onto their shoulders and finally, a total cretin will allow himself to be hoisted up 4 meters above the crowd.
This pymarid was halted in the early stages.
Inevitably the pyramid will collapse, the bozo's have not thought out the consequences of their actions that far ahead. Considering how easy it is to be injured while surfing, imagine an individual falling 4 meters and landing on the crowded audience?
It is the stewards immediate task to stop this dangerous escalation and dismantle the pyramid for the safety of all concerned, including the builders. The individual who is stupid enough to climb to the top is automatically elected for removal from the audience, both for the safety of the audience and the individual.
Deadbeats
Some individuals will prostrate themselves through many different factors. This includes drink, drugs, heat exhaustion or just plain tiredness.
To be lying apparently comatose in a field of 90,000 is not a good plan. It is the stewards job to find out what the problem is and get these individuals awake.
Bouncers
Some forms of music will induce some individuals to act like maniacs. Jumping about is OK, but bouncing off the rest of the audience is going to create distress at the very least and must be controlled. Bouncing can also lead to head butting and elbowing the audience, so it must be stopped at the bouncing stage.
Story Tellers
"The Pit" area is the holy grail for many ardent fans. If a steward is standing close to this area, they will be accosted by all forms of individuals who have a sad story to tell. The bottom line is always "Can I get into "The Pit"?
Luckily there is separate security on "The Pit" area and all cases, genuine or otherwise must be quickly directed to those staff. For every second you spend listening to the Story Teller, there is another Crow, Surfer or Pyramid Builder getting their deadly act together. You have got to be in there stopping them before they get off the ground.
2.45pm
The audience is now 80,000 strong. The act of being approachable from the onset is now paying dividends when it comes to dealing with problems. The audience also see Surfers, Bouncers and Pyramid Builders as a menace and you are usually congratulated by the audience when you stop these dangerous acts in their early stages. Also, when you are moving about, in order to deter these practices, the audience are obliging enough to allow you access through their area.
4.00pm - 8.30pm
The audience is now 95,000 strong and all the stewards are going flat out. Life is a blur that intensified after 3pm and shows no respite. The job has to be done flat out, no time to take notes or photos. You hardly notice what is happening on the stage, unless it affected the behaviour of the audience. Different groups seem to elicit different forms of behaviour that may have to be reacted to. If you take your eyes off your immediate task and look up the slope at the whole audience, the feeling is one of total fear, awe and incredulity at the mass and your place in it.
8.30 - 10.30pm
The whole audience transforms again, U2 are on stage. There are no Pyramids and no Bouncers and fewer problems to deal with. The audience are totally engrossed with what is happening on the stage. They are now 20 deep back from the stage barriers, a total of over 5,000 are massed against the stage with a further 90,000 behind that.
11.00pm - 1.00am
The concert is over and the audience are dispersing.
1.00 - 1.30am
More security and safety checks.
1.30 - 4.00am
Travel back home, totally wiped out for the next 2 days.
Conclusion
A proper pro-active attitude to the job and an anticipation of potential problems did prevent many problems. The progression of the stewards responses was dictated by the actual incident and consideration for the safety of all concerned.
Training in both verbal and non-verbal de-escalation skills made the job more easy than simply relying on control and restraint techniques alone. The Conflict Resolution model has sometimes been proposed as an ideal procedure for resolving conflict. But this model depends on both parties involved being trained in the protocol and responding through a mediator. In reality the verbal and non-verbal de-escalation procedures were more productive in this situation. The way you use your voice and body can de-escalate aggressive situations much faster. Considering the fact that there were banks of amplifiers operating at full blast where some of the groups were operating, sign language and other non-verbal procedures were more often used..
On very rare occasions (3) when an offender has to be removed from an audience of 95,000 people, the first step was to ask them twice and then tell them to leave the arena by following you out. Using the hands on escort position first would have escalated the problem. Many young men will feel humiliated in front of their friends and over-react if man handled too soon. After all, the steward is dealing with a young, high spirited and a good natured audience. You will only be removing individuals that refuse to comply with your request for them to desist from a stupid and dangerous line of behaviour within an audience of 95,000. It was only in the face of direct refusal that the hands on approach was resorted to.
I think that physical restraint and control techniques have their own inherent dificulties. What works so easily in the training hall can fail catastrophically on the real ground. Face down holds and neck locks can lead to injury, death or litigation. Pain compliance holds will not work on individuals who have ingested drink or drugs, are fighting mad or may be double jointed, so you may end up applying the hold to breaking point in order to elicit the compliance. Let me also assure you that pain compliance techniques will not work on someone who has paid more than an average days pay to see U2 and is being escorted off the site 5 minutes before U2 comes on stage.
Verbal and non-verbal de-escalation techniques will give you the breathing space to assess the offenders mental and physiological state and may also resolve the problem before going hands on. When hands on restraints were used, is in only in self defence of the stewards or the audience or because of the non-compliance of the individual giving the bother in the first instance.
Good preparation the day before the event enabled me to function properly throughout the day. By remembering that my primary duty was to take care of, assist and ensure the safety of the audience at all times kept me focused and in the correct frame of mind. By interacting and talking to members of the audience at an early stage we all established a rapport that allowed us to do our job all day with the support of the audience. The audience were there to have a "Beautiful Day" and that was achieved.
Ronnie Gamble, the author of this article, is a Control and Restraint Instructor. He also has a BSc.(Hons) in Social Psychology and Sociology. At present he is researching into group behaviour at social events and also, planning a training programme for Door Supervisors and Stewards.