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Duisburg Tragedy Puts Crowd Safety and Crowd Dynamics into the
Spotlight
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 19
people and injuring 340 on Saturday.
London, UK, July 28, 2010 -- The tragedy highlights the critical
importance of detailed crowd planning work which needs to be
undertaken before events such as these take place. Here, 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 atthe weekend.
A sites capacity is not just the size of the crowd that it can
accommodate, but also the capacity of the entry and exit routes.
Crowds do not willingly crush thepeople in front of them. 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 responsesto the conditions around them.
Similar tragedies have occurred when crowds panic in a confined
space. The Baghdad Bridge tragedy in 2005 occurred when a terrorist
threat caused a crowd of pil
grims to panic and rush onto a bridge which was closed at the
opposite end leaving nowhere for the crowd to go and more recently
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 actually turned up.
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 havethe 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 emergen
cies 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 the leading world
expert on crowd dynamics and crowd safety.
Movement Strategies specialise in planning for high-density
crowd events, includ
ing religious events, music festivals or concerts, and sports
stadiums. The company has helped improve crowd safety at some of
the most demanding crowd environments around the world.
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The crowds deliver the atmosphere and experience that make these
events so enjoyable.
Movement Strategies work encompasses the full lifecycle of
venues from planning,through detailed design, to operation. The
company has practical experience oflive events, venue and transport
operation, and can demonstrate a track record o
f making significant improvements to safety and visitor
experience/satisfactionthrough both design and operation.
Movement Strategies has worked on the London Olympics, Sochi
Olympics masterplan, FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, and its
consultants have played smaller roles on the Sydney, Athens and
Beijing Olympics. Movement Strategies has experienceof national
sports and leisure events which attract large crowds and where
visitor safety and comfort are critical success factors (e.g. Sail
in Amsterdam, theGreat North Run, Chelsea Flower Show, and Duxford
Air Show).
Most significant of these is our experience of planning,
modelling, and gainingan increased licensed capacity for the
Glastonbury Festival, which is a multi-ve
nue secure site with 177,500 visitors. We also undertake on-site
consultancy every year to observe crowd movement, safety and
behaviour and have materially improved safety and visitor
experience at the Festival.
Contact:Simon AncliffeMovement Strategies3rd FloorThe Johnson
Building77 Hatton GardenLondon EC1N 8JS UK+44 (0) 207 870
[email protected]
http://www.movementstrategies.com
