People per Square Metre

A fascinating day on the first part of a training course on event safety.  At this point we were having a practical demonstration of how densely people could stand together in a crowd.  There are 8 people within that box on the floor.  This is not untypical of some events, even though guidance suggests an average density of 2 per square metre for outdoor events and 4.7 people (I don't know how you get 0.7 of a person!), for sports grounds.

We also received advice on how quickly people could pass through a gap of 1 metre wide in a minute.  Apparently it is 82 on firm level ground, reducing to 66 if they are going down steps.  The number reduces still further on things like wet sloping ground.  We saw some sobering videos of the behaviour of crowds at festival concerts and how easily crushes can occur.  

Part of our role in the local authority is to make sure that organisers take appropriate action to  make sure that these public events take place safely.  In light of recent events in the news, not least the result of the Hillsborough enquiry, it certainly caused us to reflect on our work and responsibilities.

The information on crowd dynamics and movement was fascinating and now includes profiling the types of crowds that certain events and bands will attract and how the behaviour of that crowd will differ depending on the performers.  Must admit I can't wait until tomorrow for part two.