Posted By Brian MacMuiris Hi I have being asked to help out with the safety in public festival - parade and post parade party (party consists of a concert in an outdoor area)- roughly 6000 participants in the parade dropping to about 4000 for the party. Im reviewing the Event Management Plans at present and debating whether I should take on the role of Safety Officer. Im just wondering if people would have any advice/pointers for me. Im debating with myself, does an event of this size need a professional health and safety officer with a background in public events. Im thinking yes but Im afraid the organisation just can't afford to employ someone. Am I right in thinking that an event this size needs a professional event safety officer (My own background is in construction and science). I would also like advice on whether volunteers are suitable for use as stewards? Thanks for the help

Posted By James Holland Would definitely recommend having a designated Safety Officer for an event of that size. If nothing else, the Local Authority will almost certainly request you do. Massively suggest getting your hands on the Event Safety Guide / ‘Purple Guide’ (ISBN 0717624536) which is the Bible of event safety work. Absolutely fantastic. If your feeling poor, can be downloaded from- http://www.city.ac.uk/sa...ent%20Safety%20Guide.pdf Get in touch if I can be of any help, Regards, J. Holland

Posted By Tabs Have a long chat with your Local Authority. They will be the ones coming to spoil the day if things aren't right, so engage them early and resolve the issues with their help, to their standards. Most LA's are easy to talk to if you give them enough time. Be sure to keep them pragmatic though - don't be a puppy doing every possible thing they can think of - much of it will be "want" rather than "need". Being designated as Safety Officer for a big event carries certain responsibilities - the Purple Guide will explain.