Sporting History:

Sporting events across the world attract high numbers of visitors who wish to experience the excitement and drama. For many it is a once in a lifetime experience.

Crowd control is of utmost importance at such events. It is vital that customers have freedom of movement and access to facilities within a secure and safe environment, resulting in reduced anxiety.

Historically, events and crowd management has suffered due to a number of factors:

1. Unprepared or unrehearsed contingency plans
2. Unqualified and inexperienced events safety teams
3. Limited use of technology, to ensure turnkey security operations
4. Event planning (before, during and after)
5. Stadium design
6. Customer service delivery

The proven need for crowd control is illustrated in the following examples:

UK Sporting Disasters

The first UK sporting disaster was recorded in 1888 at Valley Parade, Bradford and resulted in three injured spectators and one dead.

Since 1888, 44 other major incidents at football stadiums across the UK have been recorded. The most recent major disaster was the FA Cup Semi-final game between Nottingham Forest FC and Liverpool FC at the Hillsborough Ground in Sheffield. Due to poor event management and crowd control 96 spectators, lost their lives, and another 300 were injured.

Notably, nearly all sporting disasters have derived upon a number of major issues that concern structural damage, crowd behaviour and spectator safety.

Sporting Disasters In The UK

UK Football Stadium Injuries & Deaths

International Sporting Disasters

The first international sporting disaster was recorded in 1957 in Florence, Italy, where 120 spectators were injured. Two years later in Naples, Italy, 65 spectators were injured, however there where no fatalities.

However, two years later in South America two incidents occurred where spectators were not as fortunate. One incident, in Ibagué, Colombia, 11 spectators lost their lives and a further 15 were reported injured due to a stand collapsing. A second incident in Santiago, Chile, lead to the death of five spectators, and the injury of a further 300 spectators due to unregulated crowd dynamics.

These sporting disasters also occurred because of the structural damage, crowd behaviour and spectator safety issues.

Sporting Disasters In The UK

Disaster Types