4FU419 Research Strategies: Event on Safety and Security

Create a large-scale event focusing on safety and security

Stages of event planning

Stage 1: Formation stage of the event

Aim and objective of the event

The objective of the event is to commemorate budding relationships between Africa and Asia. It is important for the same reason that all the important dignitaries become better aware of each other’s cultures. Hence this event provides for a perfect opportunity to incorporate different cultures and spread greater awareness about two major geographic landscapes of the world (Coombs & Timothy, 2014). The large scale event would be executed with major pomp and show. The entire idea would be to celebrate the momentous commencement of a wonderful future relationship between the two continents.

Target audience

The target audience would involve leading political and cultural figures from 48 countries of Asia and 52 countries of Africa. It is essential to define a target audience beforehand and get confirmations for the same (Getz, Donald & Stephen, 2016).

Date and time of the Event

Date: 8^th September 2019

Time: 1600 hours EET (Easter European Time)

Assemble an event team

This stage of the event planning would require to bring together a team of organizing committee who would oversee various parts of the event building (Masterman, 2014). This organizing committee would consist of the following sub committees and number of members:

 Choose event partners

Partners include all important stakeholders of the event. This includes attendees, participants, sponsors, organizers, and people of media and all others who will directly or indirectly be impacted by the event (Muller & Martin, 2015).

Selecting the venue: 

Selecting the venue is a critical aspect in the success of the event. For this particular event the venue needs to be large enough to capacitate at least over 20000 people. It is also important that the venue has perfect audio visual facility so that the speeches made by important dignitaries as well as the performances of participants are visible and audible to everyone present (Silvers, 2012).

Venue: Cairo International stadium

It is important to make sure that the organizing committee books the stadium at least one year in advance.

Stage 2: Growing stage of the event

This is the second stage of any event planning. By this time, the preliminary planning of the event has been done and all the teams are now working as per the responsibilities allocated to them (Benson, Edward, Aria & Regina, 2011).

Budgeting

This stage begins with forming a full-fledged budget for the event. For a large scale event like this, it is important to set up the budget keeping in mind various expenses involved (Greenwell, Christopher, Danzey-Bussell & Shonk, 2014). This would be the job of the finance committee. It is recommended that the finance committee comprises of people with competent knowledge to budget large scale events (Salem, Galal, Jones & Morgan, 2012).

Invitations

This stage also involves sending out invites to all the participating countries. The invites would carry the agenda of the event and would also invite participation from the countries. It is essential that the final confirmations to these invites are collected at least 6 months prior to the staging of the event (Jones, 2014).

Cultural performances

Since the event is a cultural one, it is essential that the organizing committee encourages participation from different countries. Application forms for the same would be released online a year before the event and the final applications would be received 8 months before the event (Emery & Paul, 2010). These performances could include cultural parades, dances or musicals. The organizing committee would shortlist the performances based on strenuous competitions amongst various applicants who would be asked to send videos of their performances. The final performers list would be released 6 months before the event.

Marketing and Advertising

It is also important to market the event and create enough publicity to garner the public attention. The event would be promoted in newspapers, television, and social media and on billboards across Egypt. The event’s logo, tagline as well as mascots would be released one year before the event (Preston, 2012). The marketing and advertising team would ensure that the sponsors of the event are advertised along with the event and as promised (Fullerton, 2010).

Audio-visual

It is crucial at this stage to ensure that the audio visual system of the stadium is in place. They must checked time and again and a backup option must also be ready in case something goes wrong.

Sponsors

There will be a team dedicated to raising money for the event. Applications would be released online and the firms that aim to sponsor the event would be allowed to come forward and sign the deal (Crowther, 2011). Sponsoring such a large scale event is a huge marketing opportunity and various leading brands would be interested in doing the same.

Stage 3: Staging of the event

This is the second last stage of the event. This is the part where the event commences and it is important that by this time the schedule of the entire event is in place.

Ushering the guests

The attendees of the event are largely reputed and high dignitaries from across the two continents. Therefore it is important that all of these guests are arranged for pickups at the airport (Walter). Their 5 star accommodations must be arranged for and they must be given a personal security guard. These guests must be ushered to the event venue with utmost grace and respect.  

Opening ceremony 

Once the guests have arrived, an opening ceremony would mark the commencement of the event (Wanklin, 2010). This would involve lighting of the torch by the chief guests as well as singing of the National Anthem of Egypt (Bilady). This would be followed by a speech from the Prime Minister of Egypt Sherif Ismail.

Participating countries

The invitations would be sent to representatives from 48 Asian countries and 52 African countries.

Broadcasting and filming

Various media partners would be tied up with who would be broadcasting this program live all across Africa and Asian in the local languages of various countries (Oriade, Robinson & Gelder, 2010). This is important to generate awareness among the locals of each country about the budding relationships of their country with the members of another continent.

Closing ceremony

Closing ceremony would involve felicitating all the guests who took out their time to attend the event. The prime minister would be given the responsibility of giving the vote of thanks. Once again, the national anthem of Egypt would be recited by everyone.

Stage 4: Post event

This is the last stage, by now the event has already been completed. It is the duty of the organizing committee to ensure that all the guests are escorted back safely and respectfully to the airport for their flights back home.

The event area must be entirely cleaned. The finance team must make sure that all the people have been paid for their services (Cody, Meghan & Bethany, 2010). The organizing committee members must meet one last time to gather feedback about the event. This is done so that they can learn from their mistakes. The final budget must be tallied and a thank you note must be sent to all the participants via email. The time and date of the next event must be finalized.

Risk assessment 

In this section we have attempted to list down all the things that can go wrong in the event. This is done to ensure that the teams are well prepared to handle the same.

1. Failure of Audio visual
2. Fire at the venue
3. Loss of sponsors
4. Accidents around the venue
5. More or less participants than expected
6. Unexpected weather
7. Poor time management

Safety and security

In the process of organizing a large scale event, it is absolutely necessary that due consideration is paid to the safety and security of everyone associated with the event. This section of the report throws light on various safety and security considerations that need to be taken during this event to ensure top level safety of attendees, participants as well as the organizers. Most of the participants are big political figures therefore, special arrangements must be made for the same. The following safety measures hold utmost importance:

Fire safety

Fire safety is crucial and of utmost importance. The following points must be kept in mind while ensuring fire safety of any event:

1. In case of a fire, people should be able to walk towards a safer place using a clear route.
2. There should be a safety handbook given to everyone.
3. Fire extinguishers, hose reels and fire blankets at every few steps would come handy in case of a fire (Nishiguchi, Junya & Takai, 2010).
4. The number of exits should be sufficient for such a massive gathering.
5. Doors on the emergency exit panels should be able to be opened by children.
6. Escape routes should have sufficient lighting
7. A fire warning system should be in place.
8. All the curtains and draped used in the event should be of flame retardant fabric

Transport management

The large crowd can often create traffic on the roads nearby and this may lead to accidents. Therefore a proper transport management procedure should be in place.

1. Identify the need for temporary road signs and get them placed at least three days before the event.
2. Consult with the local highway authority and request for more manpower.
3. There should be a separate team for parking management.
4. Despite a large parking area, vehicular access should be easy.
5. Emergency exits should also be there in the parking facility
6. The route for pedestrians must be different.
7. The authorities must ensure the cleanliness of the road before, after and during the event
8. The roads should be properly manned with no potholes. If the roads require servicing, it should be done before the event

Medical arrangements

Medical emergencies are mostly uncalled for. It is important that medical arrangements are sufficiently made to ensure safety of anyone if they fall sick.

1. First aid medical service must be handily available
2. There should be doctors on call present during the event
3. 2 Ambulances must be kept on standby at all time
4. The nearby hospital must be informed in advance about the large gathering so they can stay prepared
5. Efficient medical evacuation procedures must be in place.
6. There should be log book of all the treatments conducted and medicine prescribed to people during the event.
7. There should be medical center spaces in the event area. And these areas must be properly listed on the site map
8. Clinical waste must be dumped effectively.
9. First aid of employees and event organizers is also the responsibility of the event management company

Waste management

Such large event often create a huge amount of debris in the event location. This huge amount of waste can easily pollute the environment if not disposed properly. Certain wastes can even cause injury. Moreover, in case of a fire emergency, it will make it difficult for the people to evacuate the area if there is excessive waste around.

1. The entire event area must be cleaned before and after the event.
2. Waste contractor must be hired to ensure cleanliness of the event area
3. Dustbins should be placed every 100 meters to make it easy for the attendees to dispose-off their waste
4. Cleanliness workers must also ensure that the dustbins are emptied before they begin to overflow on the ground
5. Separate dustbins should be placed for disposable and non-disposable wastes.

Sanitary facilities

It is important to ensure sufficient sanitary facilities in the event area and around it. The organizers must make sure that there are adequate sanitary provisions made for the number of people expected to attend the event. These facilities must include:

1. Construction and location of toilets should be easy
2. Toilets should be readily visible
3. Indication of toilets for ladies and men should be appropriate and easy to identify.
4. Toilets should be spick and span clean
5. Adequate amount of toiletries like hand wash, toilet paper and sanitizer should be available.
6. Toilets should be maintained, serviced and repaired as and when required
7. Toilets should be placed at different locations of the venue rather than clustering them all at one place. Toilets should be placed at different locations of the venue rather than clustering them all at one place.
8. Secluded areas like parking zones should also have toilets.
9. 1 toilet for every 120 females and 1 toilet for every 600 males plus one urinal for every 175 males must be installed
10. Sanitary provision for disabled people must also be made
11. Disposal of sanitary napkins and nappies must also be appropriately done
12. One worker must be there in each washroom to ensure there is no problem.

Electrical installations and lighting

Electric installations are an important part of the event. It is important that there is consistent electricity throughout the event. The following considerations must be kept in mind:

1. All electricity installations must comply with the requirements of the electricity at work regulations 1989.
2. The total power requirement of the event should be clearly communicated and analyzed in advance
3. No electrical equipment should be exposed without sufficient cover or shelter
4. Electrical installations must be inspected and tested before the event
5. Temporary cables should be fixed properly or should be supported by a catenary wire.
6. It is recommended to segregate traffic and cables. Fences could also be used to segregate roadways from overhead cables.
7. Whenever possible, cables should be running underground.
8. Access to control switches, temperature controllers and dimmers should be easy.
9. Temperature of the event must be maintained effectively.
10. Generators should be accessible for refueling purposes.
11. Sockets should be placed at a few distances to enable people to charge their phones and other devices.
12. Emergency lighting should be appropriately provided.
13. Provisions should be made to provide for first aid in case there is an electrical error

Food, drink and water

It is necessary that the food and water is available in adequate amounts and complies with the relevant food safety legislation.

1. Estimate the food requirement well in advance
2. The entry of any hazardous food must be prohibited
3. All the cuisines offered must have a list of ingredients placed in front of it. So that if someone has any allergy, they can refrain from eating foods that contain allergenic substance.
4. Food must travel safely across the event.
5. Training must be given to all the food handlers at location.
6. Food waste must be stored and disposed appropriately
7. High maintenance of personal hygiene must be done by all food handlers
8. Drinking water should be available at adequate distances
9. Provide accessible and lockable facilities for the storage of food.
10. Since many people would be coming from different countries, it is advisable to have a vast range of menu that suits people’s local needs.
11. Drinking water must be available in abundance
12. Organizers must discourage wastage of water
13. Signboards and placards must be placed across the venue to discourage wastage of food or water

Event Attendees

The people attending the event are high level politicians and there must be special provisions made to ensure their safety and security.

1. Bulletproof cars must be made available.
2. High level security system must be in place
3. Personal body guards must be assigned
4. They must be evacuated first in case of a problem
5. Bullet proof jackets must also be provided to them

Conclusion

Event management is a long process that requires taking care of various aspects of the event. Events are important to organizations as well as countries. They involve a massive gathering of people therefore it becomes even more difficult to manage them. They involve a lot of unforeseen risk. Hence, it requires a large and qualified team to manage an even entirely.

This report throws light on a massive event organized at the Cairo International Stadium which aims at establishing and deepening relationships between Africa and Asia. It will be a largely cultural event where leading personalities from 48 countries of Asia and 52 countries of Africa will participate with great pomp and show. The cultural performances are aimed at increasing awareness about different cultures of the countries.

The four stages of event planning that have been explained in the report are formation, growing, staging and completion. An entire section of the report has been dedicated to elaborating upon the safety and security of the event and everyone associated with it. It is very crucial that the safety of all the participants in ensured. The food, electrical, sanitary as well as medical facilities of the event must be well in place. All these provisions must be made in advance and checked time and again.

Even in case of a crisis, how the crisis is handled is most important. Therefore, a rehearsal event should be conducted one day before the actual event. Event planning often requires months of time. It is a creative process and such a high level of preparation and planning leads to a wonderful event.

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