The terrible events which unfolded in Duisburg during the Love Parade Festival, has led to German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanding an "intensive" investigation, to uncover what caused a crush outside a tunnel, at the entrance of the festival killing 20 people and injuring 340 on Saturday, 24/07/10.
The tragedy highlights the critical importance of detailed crowd planning work which needs to be undertaken before events such as these take place. Simon Ancliffe, Managing Director of London based company, Movement Strategies, leading experts in crowd dynamics and crowd safety, throws some light on the preparations needed and outlines just some of the issues connected to safety at high-density crowd events.
Ancliffe says “Un-ticketed events always present extra risk compared with ticketed, paid-for events, as often, more people will turn up than the capacity of the site can accommodate. The plans for un-ticketed events must recognise that this can happen and include procedures for safely and effectively turning people away, ideally before the crowds ever get close to the areas that are already crowded. This becomes very difficult when the crowds become very large as in Duisburg at the weekend. At a smaller scale there was a crowd accident in 2009 at Birmingham when X Factor stars, JLS, switched on the Christmas lights and a metal barrier collapsed. 60 people were injured. A crowd of 5000 was expected but according to reports over 27,000 turned up.
A site’s capacity is not just the size of the crowd that it can accommodate, but also the capacity of the entry and exit routes. A crowd crush requires people to move into a confined space, or in opposing directions, or for people to slip, trip or fall (either because of the crowd, slippery surfaces, or other obstacles). Crowds ‘panic’ when the people in them are scared, in which cases panic and flight are the right responses to the conditions around them.
The transfer of information in crowds is limited. People in a crowd cannot see far in front of them or always hear information well. They certainly do not have the birds-eye view of the organisers, to understand what is happening, thus creating more panic.
Risk assessment of high density crowd events, should also recognise that emergencies can happen at any time including on the way in or before the event, particularly with un-ticketed events.
More and more events organisers have recognised the importance of undertaking risk assessment with particular emphasis on crowd dynamics.
I would not wish to comment on the specifics of this tragic case.
About Movement Strategies:
Simon Ancliffe, MD of Movement Strategies is a leading consultant in crowd dynamics and crowd safety.
Movement Strategies specialise in planning for high-density crowd events, including religious events, mega sports events, music festivals and concerts, sports stadiums, and metros. The company has helped improve crowd safety at some of the most demanding crowd environments around the world.
Movement Strategies work encompasses the full lifecycle of venues from planning, through detailed design, to operations. The company has practical experience of live events, venue and transport operation, and can demonstrate a track record of making significant improvements to safety and visitor experience/satisfaction through both design and operation.