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Attend our Professional Diploma course for FREE, thanks to Actavo Events

As part of their ongoing support for our Professional Diploma in Risk & Safety Management for Crowds and Events, Actavo is offering you the opportunity to secure a place for FREE.

Latest IOSH Working Safely at Events course SOLD OUT

After receiving a few inquiries about this course from some clients, we scheduled another one for April 2022. This course is now sold out.

Safe Events Professional Diploma Now University Accredited

Just ahead of our 3rd group of learners embarking on our Professional Diploma, we are delighted to announce the course is now University Credit-Rated.

Safe Events Recruiting For 3 New Roles

We are looking for 3 new people to join our Team, as a result of the business growing and more people being needed to support a range of Irish and international events in the near future.

[What we do] Reviewing the design of a dance arena for a festival

This is the 1st in a series of blog posts / content pieces we are doing around what we actually do as Crowd & Event Safety specialists. The idea is to give an insight into the types of tasks we take on as part of our work for events and festivals etc.

Safe Events Director Interviewed by Dublin Radio Station

Mark in here spoke with Natasha Gillies of the Irish Business Show on Dublin City FM recently, where they discussed the pilot events here in Ireland, working in the Middle East, planning processes for events and more.

Safeevents.ie Wins Design Award. . . Randomly

We received an email recently letting us know that the good folks at Design Rush had deemed our website award-worthy in the 'Best Website Design' category. We didn't enter the site for consideration so it was a nice surprise.

IOSH 'Working Safely at Events' Course Now Available Publicly With Safe Events

Safe Events is now offering an IOSH-certified 'Working Safely at Events' course, which is a LIVE, 1-day, online course involving an assessment to secure certification.

Safe Events Launches World-First Professional Diploma

Safe Events has developed the world's first Professional Diploma in Risk & Safety Management for Crowds & Events and will be delivering it online, with 2 classes SOLD OUT already.

Safe Events Announces 1st Case Study Webinar

Ben Crabb, the Event Safety Consultant behind the 'UK's 1st socially-distanced venue' will deliver a webinar looking at everything involved in bringing these events to fruition during COVID.

Safe Events Announces 2nd LIVE Panel Webinar

We've brought together Crowd and Event Safety professionals from Australia, Canada, the United States and Ireland to specifically discuss events during and post COVID-19 during this LIVE Panel Webinar.

LIVE Panel Webinar announced with global safety experts

11am on June 4th 2020 will see a panel of vastly experienced Crowd and Event Safety professionals answer YOUR questions. No presentations. Just straight-talking and answers.

#EventInsights Webinar Series Schedule

Our #EventInsights webinar series features some amazingly experienced event professionals, all giving freely of their time and experience to introduce you to some fascinating, niche areas of the event industry.

7 Reasons You Can't Trust Attendance Figures For Big Events

The people quoting attendance figures for events have their own motivations. Until there are verifiable, 3rd-party, independent experts assessing attendance figures, you can't trust the ones you hear.

Have You Some Event Industry Insight To Share?

We're looking to run some webinars designed to give people insight into various elements of the event industry, aimed at #eventstudents, people graduating into the industry, early-career #eventprofs.

Safe Events Hosts Sold-Out Crowd Psychology Masterclass

Over 30 (mostly) Irish event professionals attended our 1st-ever Crowd Psychology for Crowd Safety Management with Prof. John Drury.

Health and Safety Podcast Interviews Safe Events Director, Mark Breen

Mark Breen, Director of Safe Events, was recently interviewed for the Safeti Podcast by Richard Collins. They discussed trust, joined-up thinking and playing the long game.

2020 Placement Opportunity Available With Safe Events & Cuckoo Events

We are on the lookout for someone to join us on placement here beginning in early 2020. We have a lot of events on next year that will provide superb opportunities for a student to experience events from planning to delivery.

Are Vehicles Appropriate As Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) For Events?

I started a conversation on this topic on LinkedIn recently and got some valuable expert perspectives from event professionals around the world. We decided to put this article together to capture and share those perspectives.

3 More International Awards For The Safe Events Team

We have added another 3 IFEA Pinnacle Awards to the haul of 10 awards we've won at the annual international awards show in recent years.

Multi-Award-Winning Leading Global Event Safety App Partners With Safe Events

Safe Events has secured the exclusive Irish rights to deploy the world's leading C3i (Command, Control, Communications & intelligence) Event Management Software for its clients' events.

Safe Events Supporting Dublin Pride Bid For EuroPride 2022

Dublin Pride is one of 5 cities bidding to host Euro Pride 2022, with Safe Events as a key partner, having worked with the Dublin Pride team since 2015 on Dublin Pride each year.

Safe Events Director Appears On #EventIcons Show

Mark Breen, Safe Events Director, recently appeared on the #EventIcons show hosted by Endless Events discussing all things #eventsafety related. Mark joined Alan Kleinfeld on the show to field viewers' questions and more.

Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Tips for Event Organisers

Vehicle ramming attacks have been particularly common in recent times due to the ease of access to the ‘weapon’ and the relative lack of sophisticated planning required to carry out the attack.

Safe Events Announces 'Medical' Talking Shop Event

We've announced the 3rd in our Talking Shop series of events. It will look at first aid / medical cover for events. This is always a hot topic of debate in the industry. Hopefully this event will be of use to us all.

Safe Events Announces 'Decision-Making' Talking Shop Event

This will be the 2nd in our Talking Shop series and we are very excited about it. Lloyd & Greg from CREST Planning, will deliver a keynote address during which they will introduce 3 new tools that may help us in planning and managing safety at our events.

Inaugural 'Talking Shop' Event Moves To Bigger Venue

This 1st event - 'Temporary Structures for Events - how do we know they are safe?' - will now be held in the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane in Dublin. Demand has been such that we need a bigger venue.

Planning For The Impacts Of Weather On Our Events

If you manage outdoor events, weather will create problems. Rain can cause problems with access. Wind and lightning can delay event set ups. With a vast number of potential impacts, the safety of everyone on site must be planned for and managed each day.

Safe Events Launches 'Talking Shop' Seminar Series

The 1st seminar in the new series is titled 'Temporary Structures for Events - how do we know they are safe?'. It involves a keynote address from Roger Barrett of Star Events and will be followed by a panel session with Irish event industry professionals.

Safe Events Director Named In Global '40 Under 40' List

Chosen by a panel of judges to be included in 'Health & Safety at Work's 40 Under 40' out of 160 entries, Mark Breen, Director of Safe Events, has been recognised for his contribution to our industry.

Being Prepared for Acid Attacks

Over the last 12 months or so, the world, and the UK in particular, has seen an increase in hazardous and corrosive crime attacks - so-called “acid attacks”. In response to this NaCTSO published Remove: guidance on removing hazardous substances.

Safe Events Wins International Award For Emergency Planning Work

Having won 3 awards in each of the last 2 years at the annual IFEA Pinnacle Awards, we are delighted to have won 4 awards in 2018.

The Risks of Using Strobe Lighting at Events

Stroboscopic effects (strobes) are often forgotten when assessing risks at events. The headlines tend to go to the temporary structures and the falls from height. They shouldn’t be forgotten!

How Do I Know How Many People Fit At My Event? [5 Videos]

Calculating how many people can fit in your event is usually an extremely involved process that requires the expertise and experience of professionals. In these 4 short videos we seek to explain simply some of what's involved.

4 Extremely Helpful #Events Infographics

We've produced some handy infographics over the years under our Cuckoo Events brand and we've collated them together here for ease of access. They deal with using radios on events, weather, general safety and safety of inflatables and bouncy castles.

Mother & Daughter Reunited Thanks To Our FREE Wristband

We've been providing our Lost Child Wristbands for FREE for over a year now. We've had numerous people get in touch when the wristbands have proven useful. Here's one particular story of a mother & child being reunited thanks to our wristbands.

Safe Events Helps to Deliver Biggest Fleadh Ever

We won the tender to work on Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann in Drogheda towards the end of 2017 and we'd a senior Team member on it pretty much full-time from then, with support from the rest of the Team, as required.

[IFEA - Safely Does It] - Counter-Terrorism For Events

I write a regular quarterly column entitled 'Safely Does It' for the IFEA 'ie' magazine. The latest column looks at counter-terrorism for events.

Wild Lights Events Win Big At Event Industry Awards

The Wild Lights events we worked on with Dublin Zoo won 2 of the main awards on offer at the annual Event Industry Awards here in Ireland.

We're Co-Chairing Two Upcoming IIRSM #Crowdsafety Conferences

We're active members of IIRSM as well as in the international #crowdsafety community. We're delighted that Mark in here will be co-chairing two upcoming conferences with IIRSM.

Making Tough Calls: Halting An Event Build Due To Forecasted High Winds

Part of the responsibility we take on as Safety Officers on events is sometimes having to make tough calls during events or, indeed, during the lead-in to events. Thos calls can have major impacts.

CCTV Isn't The Issue. Monitoring Is.

CCTV is often employed on events as an element of the Event Management Plan in an effort to help keep people safe. It definitely has its place but it has its issues too.

Modelling Search Systems for #Events

Modelling for events is probably not what you think it is. At least not all of the time anyway. Modelling can be quite easy to do and highly effective in helping plan safe events. One of the most useful models we use is one for modelling search systems.

Do Not Use Petrol Generators At Events

There are a number of good reasons you should not use petrol generators at your events. This short article runs through 4 of them.

Safe Events Directors Attend First Event Counter-Terrorism Risk Management Course

Martin and Mark travelled to the Fire Service College in the UK recently to attend the first ever Event Counter-Terrorism Risk Management (EvCTRM) course.

Safe Events Director Presents to Inaugural Irish IIRSM Branch Meeting

Mark was delighted to be invited to speak at the inaugural meeting of the Irish branch of IIRSM. He presented a session entitled 'Introducing Key Risk Management Tools for Running Safe Events'.

Physical Barriers To Guard Against Vehicle Attacks - Help Or Hindrance?

I'm a firm believer that the decisions we make around public safety when planning events need to be informed and risk-assessed. Barriers to stop vehicle attacks are an interesting case.

The Safety Risks Inherent In Fans Rushing Onto A Pitch Or Court

Sports teams are tasked with managing their fans so that they don't rush on to pitches / courts etc. Those who fail to do so can face large fines. Is it really that dangerous?

Actions to Consider Taking with Hurricane-Force Winds Approaching

Hurricane Ophelia is set to hit the Irish shores early next week. With winds and gusts of up to 100mph being forecast, there are a number of key actions we should consider taking.

Safe Events Wins Gold For Emergency & Risk Management Plan

For the 2nd year in a row, Cuckoo Events / Safe Events has come away from the International Festivals & Events Association annual awards with 3 prizes.

FREE Places Available On Our Next #CrowdSafety Course

We're offering some FREE places on our upcoming Introduction to Crowd Safety & Risk Analysis course. The free places can be secured simply by emailing us and telling us why you want it.

Common Safety Issues At Events & Festivals - Part Two

The same safety issues tend to crop up on events and festivals regularly. We're going to run through some of the most common ones here and hopefully it may be of use to some of you running your own events.

Using the DIM-ICE Matrix to Plan Safer Events

The DIM-ICE matrix is a tool we use during our Risk Assessment process. It allows us to consider the 3 phases of an event - Ingress, Circulation and Egress - from 3 important perspectives - Design, Information and Management. Let me show you how.

Making Events Safer With Risk Mapping

Safety for events can be quite daunting, especially for people who don't do it professionally. Sometimes you likely need professionals but there are tools you can use to help you understand risk at your events. Risk Mapping is one of those tools.

Why Do Events Need Safety People [3]?

This is now the 3rd post in our 'Why Do Events Need Safety People?' series. We're using this series to highlight some common issues we encounter on events in the hopes that it might help others run safer events in the future.

Radio Interview With Safe Events Founders

Safe Events co-Founders, Martin Cullen and Mark Breen were recently interviewed by Ellen Gunning on her Mediascope show about all things crowd and event safety related. You can listen to the interview here.

Safe Events Featured In Sunday Business Post

On foot of recent business growth and the development of Safe Events, we were delighted to be featured in the Sunday Business Post.

Safe Events Launches Lost Child Wristband Initiative

The issue of children becoming separated from their parents at events is a common one. We've used Lost Child Wristbands to great effect on our events and are now offering them for FREE for community events, charities, not-for-profit events and similar.

Why Do Events Need Safety People [2]?

This is the 2nd post in our 'Why Do Events Need Safety People?' series. We started it to highlight the types of issues we see so regularly and to, hopefully, help people organising events to organise safer ones.

Why Do Events Need Safety People [1]?

This is a question we hear quite regularly, In fairness, it's natural to hear it in a professional as young as Crowd & Event Safety. The truth though is that we see reasons every week that events need safety people.

Common Safety Issues At Events & Festivals - Part One

The same safety issues tend to crop up on events and festivals regularly. We're going to run through some of the most common ones here and hopefully it may be of use to some of you running your own events.

Police Motorbike Causes Huge Crash During Giro d'Italia

A police motorbike caused the entire SKY team along with many others to fall during a recent stage of the Giro d'Italia. With Gearing Thomas among those injured and unable to continue, the crash has had a significant impact on the event.

The Importance of Embracing & Assessing Risk

I write a regular column for the IFEA "i.e.: the business of international events" quarterly magazine. This post was originally published in the magazine as an introduction to a new focus I would be bringing to my columns in there.

Making Motorsports Events Safer For Crowds

The reality is that motorsports events including motorcycle racing, Formula 1, rally driving and similar, can never be completely safe. However, the risks to participants and those in the audience need to be considered separately.

We're Working With A New Saudi Client On Some Amazing Events

We recently secured a new client in Saudi Arabia and, following a successful site visit, are heading back out there in a few days time to consult on a large cultural event for a week.

Weather Can Significantly Affect Your Event

Ireland isn't the only country where the weather can have a major impact on events but we're definitely used to it here. Here it tends to be the rain impacting our outdoor events but around the world it can be wind, dust, resting ground water and more.

4 Useful Tools To Address Weather Affects At Your Event

Weather is an often overlooked factor in effective planning and management of events, both indoor and outdoor. Here are 4 tools to help you along the way.

2 Dead, More Injured During Argentinian Pop Concert Crush

Amid reports that over 300,000 people were in attendance at this event when the maximum capacity was set at 200,000, two people tragically lost their lives with many more injured also.

King Kong Statue Catches Fire At Movie Premiere In Vietnam

The 'King Kong: Skull Island' premiere in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam saw audiences fleeing as a giant statue of the main character was engulfed in flames.

Players & Fans Fight During Junior Hockey Game In Canada

Police had to break up this fight during a hockey game in New Brunswick, Canada last Saturday. A place in the Finals WAS at stake, after all. . .

Introduction To Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course Announced For November 2017

We've announced our next 'Introduction to Crowd Safety & Risk Analysis' for November 2017. Our first course was held in February 2017 and saw 31 people attend with many more on Waiting & Interest Lists.

Practical Skills Workshops Wrap Up For This Academic Year

We've just finished our 2nd run of Practical Skills Workshops, visiting 6 different Irish colleges, with 2 visits to DIT, such was the level of interest among the Event Management students.

Attendee Feedback On Our First Public Introduction To Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course

In February 2017 we ran Ireland's 1st public Introduction to Crowd Safety & Risk Analysis course. 31 people attended and this is a collection of their feedback on the course.

Drunk Driver Crashes Vehicle Into Parade Crowd

28 people were hurt, with 21 hospitalised, when a seemingly drunk driver crashed into a crowd of people watching a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans.

The Mathematics Of Crowd Safety

Mathematics pervades all areas of planning and managing for crowds. While you don't necessarily need a Phd in mathematics, you do need to (a) understand when it's in play and (b) be comfortable working with the numbers.

Safety for Parade Events: Key Considerations

Not all events are the same and parade events are quite particular, providing event planners with a range of specific challenges. Here are some key considerations for safety at parade events.

Safe Events Team Gifted AED By Festimed

The Safe Events Team, including the part-time Event Team members, are all trained in First Aid, including the use of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). Dave Rock, CEO of Festimed UK & IRL, recently presented us with an AED.

31 People Attend Ireland's First Public Introduction To Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis Course

We recently ran Ireland's 1st public 'Introduction to Crowd Safety & Risk Analysis'. The 3-day course, delivered by leading expert Prof. Dr. G Keith Still, saw people from every corner of the events industry attend.

Crowd Counting Resources

We've compiled a selection of resources specifically relating to crowd counting. This includes websites, articles images etc.

Crowd Counting with Prof Keith Still | Inside The Box

In the first of our LIVE broadcast events, we speak with Prof Dr. G Keith Still about crowd counting. We did it live on Facebook and this blog post includes the video as well as some supplemental info and input from Keith.

4 Useful Tools For Counting Crowds

Crowd counting is key to the safe planning and management of events, in particular large-scale, public, mass-gathering events. Here are 4 tools you may find useful to assess the size of the crowds at your events.

Crowd Counting for Event & Crowd Safety

Counting the number of people in a crowd is an important element of proper event and crowd planning and management. Yet, we often only hear about the size of a crowd AFTER the event and the number we hear is rarely accurate.

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