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Ariana Grande concert explosion


GridGirl

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Hoping all Blue Roomers are safe and sound - it occurred to me that there may be some of us working on the concert in Manchester. I hope everyone is accounted for and uninjured.

 

All crew and artists ok explosion in foyer single suicide bomber 22 dead inc children! 59 Injured

 

 

 

 

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Worth keeping perspective that chances of being involved in a terrorist attack are a lot smaller than other emergencies that might occur in a venue.

 

Trapped trying to exit building much more common killer, fear of missing bus Nottingham Lava Ignite, fear of fire Bradford, fear of missing game Liverpool.

Edinburgh Empire Fire, 2 touring crew lost to smoke inhallation less than 15` from door , because it was round a corner and were unfamiliar with building.

 

If your in a venue for a day, take the time to find all the available exits.

 

If your working in a venue, keep all exits absolutely clear, not even a sweety wrapper it`s a trip hazard, and clearly lit,signed and unlocked at all times public are in, consider airline style announcement at start of show pointing out the available exits. Punters will always try and leave way they entered even if its opposite end of building.

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As above, the risk of any particular venue being a target for terrorism is small, and when preparing for large scale but rare events, one should not lose sight of the more mundane accidents and emergencies. For a fixed concert hall, theatre or similar venue the biggest risks are probably fire, power failure and flood.

 

For an event not in a fixed building, the biggest risk is almost certainly extreme weather resulting in the failure of temporary structures, numerous injuries from flying debris, and danger from exposure, and possibly electrical dangers when "splash proof" equipment ends up being submerged.

 

So yes, review preparations for a major terrorist attack, but don't forget the more common mishaps.

 

 

 

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Slight change of subject. Just wanted to say how proud I was when I heard about the charity gig Ariana and the other stars are putting on this weekend. It's a big show of support by a lot of people, not least the technical teams, companies and individuals that will be drafted in to help.

 

I'm off work on Saturday. If anybody knows anybody involved, and they're asking for help then shout out!

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Is the expectation that everyone works for free? Surely not. I've got very rigid views on these things and wonder about how it's all managed. It's designed to raise 2 million quid. In my head, everyone who takes part on stage, backstage, front of house, in the marketing department and down to poster printers has a choice. They can work for free or not. However, how do you actually manage this both practically and legally?

 

The equipment suppliers. They can offer truck loads of kit with no hire fee. Can they offer their staff for free? No. Their staff are employees. If they are salaried then they still get paid, even if sitting in the warehouse, the hire firm have to pay wages even if they're not working. How about their self-employed regular crews. Some will want to work for free, others won't. It's decisive, and possibly risky if your safety focussed crew are missing replaced with well meaning crews working for free, perhaps even having to do more senior roles because those people are missing. If some people take their pay and some don't, that's a potential staff nightmare for the future. You did - you didn't work fro free in the memory for a long time.

 

Front of house staff have the same issues - some will wish to work for free, some won't. How far down the line does it go? Does the poster printing firm suggest their staff do it for free because they're printing free of charge?

 

For once, the musicians have it right - they usually insist that charity events are paid for, and then individuals can donate their pay to the fund if they wish. Nobody knows who does and who doesn't if they don't mention it. So should the hire company invoice, then donate that money? Should the crews all be paid, and then cheerfully hand it to the fund if they wish? That's my preferred system. You get the best people, the best kit and the best production, and individuals and businesses donate as they wish.

 

Obviously, t=in these events there will be businesses used who cannot afford to work for free - trucking companies are a good one. If you go back a few years to the Treasure Hunt programme, the problems of taking free offers were quite expensive when Anneka Rice painted a lighthouse with freely donated paint - that was totally the wrong stuff and had to be replaced and considerable expense in a short period of time.

 

Obviously, the cause for this event is exceptionally good - but is somebody working a follow spot doing it for free a legal status. Are volunteers and paid crew treated differently in law? I don't know.

 

The logistics of these big shows is amazingly complex, are volunteers a bit risky. How many people with an empty space in the diary would happily say yes they'll do it, but then suddenly get offered a paid gig the same day for real money? Many would turn it down, but what do you do when suddenly 5 or 10% of your people don't actually arrive? Scary!

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Is the expectation that everyone works for free?

 

I think it's highly unlikely that anyone involved backstage or FoH will be volunteers, but also very likely that many/most will be making a donation. The local crew and the Showsec stewards will be the same people who work regularly at the arena just a mile or so across town, many who were there last week.

 

The equipment suppliers.

 

The stage is already in. The Star Vertech that the Courteeners played on at the weekend has been left in place. So no additional transport costs, crane hire etc., associated with that - it's a large chunk of logistics that's already paid for, with the load out put back a couple of weeks. If you're curious to know whether there's an additional hire charge there, Star have a presence on social media (facebook for example) you could always ask them there and see what they say.

 

Does the poster printing firm suggest their staff do it for free because they're printing free of charge?

I don't think there'll need to be much spent on publicity! Safe enough, I suspect, to say tickets will sell without any posters being put up. ;)

 

Are volunteers and paid crew treated differently in law?

No. As far as elf'n'safety and the like is concerned there is no difference at all. Volunteers and paid crew alike are "at work" in the sense of the HSAW

 

I've been very impressed by Ariana Grande through all this. I'm never likely to be a fan of her work, but she is clearly a class act. Chapeau Ms Grande, I raise my hat to you.

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Is the expectation that everyone works for free?

There's plenty of examples of how charity concerts and events like this have been run in the past so we don't need to guess. Companies may waive their fees for providing products/services but their staff will still be being paid, as will operational expenses (fuel for generators for example) and there will be "enough" paid staff on site to adequetly run the event properly and safely (Relying on volunteers completely it would be impossible to meet the H&S obligations of events on this scale for example) - there may well be extra people on site who have given their time for free; there's always the expectation that everyone paid is working for their base fee and doesn't go mad with expenses/overtime rates.

This is how it works on every major charity concert/event I've been involved in, it's also how TV fundraisers (Children in Need, Red Nose Day, Royal Variety, Text Santa, etc) work every year.

It would be completely illegal for any company to force their staff to work for free, directly or indirectly and if anyone did loose employment because they refused to work for free the employment tribunal would find in their favour in about 30 seconds. For a concert event of this scale the companies involved will all be of such size that the cost to them of paying their staff to work 1 day whilst the company itself doesn't bill the concert is trivially small, would be fully tax deductible and would almost certainly lead to other jobs because of the goodwill associated with being a supplier who "donated" to such a well respected event.

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How about their self-employed regular crews. Some will want to work for free, others won't. It's decisive, and possibly risky if your safety focussed crew are missing replaced with well meaning crews working for free, perhaps even having to do more senior roles because those people are missing.

 

I also presume that if one was to work for free then PLI and similar may not be valid - if there was a problem, it might be awkward to work out if the crew member was covered as a volunteer rather than a self-employed contractor. I suspect that being paid (with the option to donate, if appropriate) makes it clear about the working relationships and liability cover.

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