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Birmingham stampede


Roderick

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Guest lightnix
Birmingham to learn lessons from concert crowd surge

 

Birmingham City Council has admitted it could have done more to prevent a crowd surge when boy band JLS performed at the city’s Christmas lights ceremony.

 

Councillor Martin Mullaney, cabinet member for leisure, sport and culture said the council could have erected big screens outside the event for those unable to get in...

Full story here...

 

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I like the bit on the video during the de-rig where someone is apparently climbing all over the truss with no fall protection. Not convinced with the choice of front of stage barrier system. Made for an interesting discussion in my Event Design & Management lecture yesterday.
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How did they end up with unprecedented numbers though? Because they didn't pre-ticket?

 

Glasgow's event has been pre ticketed for about 5 years now. There is a nominal charge (£2 if I recall) this allows them to limit access to the square, and also to cover the costs of marshalls, toilets, and barriers (stage at one end, entry at the other, but fireworks go off from the entry end of the square). There are other exits which are marshalled and can be easily opened to allow rapid egress.

 

Are Glasgow very unusual in pre-ticketing entry to a confined square for such events (a similar plan is in place for New Year).

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Plymouth didn't have any pre-ticketing (or any ticketing for that matter). It was incredibly cramped where I was standing although it was about 10m from the front. People I have spoken to said that it was almost painful at the front when George Samson came on stage.

 

As for exit routes, it took me 5 mins to get out when there was no-one panicking. I dread to think how long it could have taken in an emergency.

 

Minimal security and stewards with the local radio "talent" urging people to more forward to see more is a recipe for disaster, I'm just glad there wasn't one.

 

Josh

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I like the bit on the video during the de-rig where someone is apparently climbing all over the truss with no fall protection. Not convinced with the choice of front of stage barrier system. Made for an interesting discussion in my Event Design & Management lecture yesterday.

 

Where is this video of the rig/de rig/show? all the news ones are the same dodgy camera angle.

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Where is this video of the rig/de rig/show? all the news ones are the same dodgy camera angle.

 

Its here. (I already asked Kit by PM)

 

It doesn't show anyone climbing 'all over the truss' though, someone in the background behind an interview steps up on to the ledgers at about 2.4m on some Kwikform scaff adjacent to the stage (cowsheds possibly, or more likely pa wings). To see similarly hair raising WaH malarky, watch any scaffolder at work, (almost) anywhere.

 

I'm not sure what Kit means about the front of stage barrier either, the video shows a lot of bike-rack but there's nothing to indicate it was in front of the stage at any point. From the one glimpse I did get of the barrier (in one of the still photos) it looked like a perfectly standard barrier to me (Mojo or the like).

It looked to me like the bike-rack featured in that video was actually there to keep people away from the de-rig, maybe Kit is more perceptive than me, but I couldn't see anything to indicate how, where (or even if) it was used for the gig itself.

 

On the subject of the dodgy news footage - the link at the top of the thread has the camcorder footage with what I presume is its original soundtrack (the people who made the film talking about what they were seeing, and later one of them calling the police). Elsewhere the same footage turns up with a soundtrack made by clumsily looping a short (I mean about 20s ish) sample of screaming crowd. Pretty shoddy work, I thought - I wouldn't be impressed at all if a theatrical sound designer had turned that out.

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I may have been mistaken about the FOS barrier. I'll have another look.

 

2.4m counts as working at height. A fall from that could injure or kill you. Difficult to protect though (too low for fall arrest) But a safer system of work should and could have been used.

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I may have been mistaken about the FOS barrier. I'll have another look.

 

Pictures 4 and 8 on BBC News website reader's pictures shows the barrier in front of the stage, it looks like standard crush barrier to me and fit for purpose.  The barrier we discussed in the Event Design & Management lecture seemed to be further back at a choke point.  If memory serves it was lightweight barrier and collapsed when the audience was pushed against it.  This would fit with eyewitnesses saying they got cuts on their arms from the barrier.

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