Developing an Event Safety Risk Typology: A Qualitative Dissertation

This dissertation, titled "Developing an Event Safety Risk Typology: A Qualitative Study of Risk Perception Amongst Event Planners and Venue Managers," investigates the crucial aspects of risk management and safety within the event industry, particularly in the UKME. Employing a positivism philosophy, a deductive approach, and a descriptive research design, the study utilizes interviews with event managers to explore risk perceptions. The research identifies common risks and emphasizes the need for robust safety measures. The dissertation is structured into six chapters, beginning with an introduction to event management and a problem statement concerning the absence of specific safety guidelines. It then delves into a comprehensive literature review covering event management, risk assessment, legislation, and risk perception. The methodology chapter details the research philosophy, approach, design, strategy, and data analysis techniques employed. The results and findings are presented in two parts, categorizing various event safety risks, including crowd control, technical hazards, fire risks, security issues, and financial risks. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for future research and links the findings to the study's objectives, offering valuable insights for event planners and venue managers seeking to enhance safety and mitigate potential risks.

Running head: DISSERTATION
Developing an Event Safety Risk Typology: A Qualitative Study of Risk Perception Amongst
Event Planners and Venue Managers
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Acknowledgement
Thank you to all of those who have helped listened and encouraged me throughout this study.
I am indebted to my supervisor ……………………. whose guidance, advice and patience
have been immeasurable. My sincere thanks to all members of the…………… [Mention your
university/college name], both staff and students, whose continuous support have made this
thesis possible.
I would like to thank all of the participants in the study: students, teachers and Local
Education Authorities, for the time and help given throughout. Without their participation,
this research would not have been possible. In this context, I am also thankful to them, whose
research work helped me to execute this paper well.
Finally, I thank my family, without whom this thesis would not have been started or
completed! Your encouragement and support have never faltered; thank you.

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Abstract
Managing of risks and safety in an event is one of the most important things, as it helps in
planning out the event in a proper manner. This helps the event management team to
meticulously plan out the structures so that any type of risks can be mitigated when the event
is being held on a particular date. Safety, security and managing the risks of an event are a
collaborative and complex process that needs to be done with the combination of different
experts belonging to various fields so that the environment where the event will be help can
be safe and secure. The primary purpose of this research would be to understand the safety
and risk issues with the perspective of the venue managers and event planners that are present
within the British industry and particularly in UKME. the researcher has used positivism
philosophy, deductive approach, and descriptive research design and interview research
strategy. The researcher has used convenience sampling technique for selecting 3 event
managers of UKME as interviewee. Considering the above-mentioned methods, the
researcher has used primary data collection technique and qualitative data analysis
techniques. it can be concluded that risk while organizing events are very common and safety
and security measures need to be undertaken appropriately for mitigating the potential risks.
This research aim towards recognizing the present practices conducted in the event industry
in terms of safety and security. Understanding the phenomenon provides an opportunity for
the event planners to set necessary benchmarks to risk and safety aspects followed by
determining appropriate risk assessment and risk management strategies later on.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction..............................................................................................................7
1.0 Research background.......................................................................................................7
1.1 Event management introduction......................................................................................7
1.2 Problem Statement...........................................................................................................8
1.3 Purpose of the study.........................................................................................................8
1.4 Aims and objectives.........................................................................................................9
1.5 Research questions...........................................................................................................9
1.6 Structure of the Study.......................................................................................................9
Chapter 2: Literature Review...................................................................................................11
2.0 Overview........................................................................................................................11
2.1 Event management.........................................................................................................11
2.2 Event and Project management......................................................................................12
2.3 Risk, assessment and management................................................................................13
2.4 Event risk and safety......................................................................................................15
2.5 Risk perception...............................................................................................................17
2.5.1 Insights....................................................................................................................17
2.5.2 Risk perception within the event industry...............................................................18
2.6 Legislation and legal aspect...........................................................................................19
2.7 Chapter summary...........................................................................................................19

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Chapter 3: Research methodology...........................................................................................21
3.0 Overview........................................................................................................................21
3.1 Research outline.............................................................................................................21
3.2 Research philosophy......................................................................................................21
3.2.1 Justification of choosing positivism philosophy.....................................................21
3.3 Research approach.........................................................................................................22
3.3.1 Justification of choosing deductive approach.........................................................22
3.4 Research design..............................................................................................................22
3.4.1 Justification of choosing descriptive design...........................................................22
3.5 Research strategy...........................................................................................................23
3.5.1 Justification of choosing interview strategy............................................................23
3.6 Sampling technique and sample size..............................................................................23
3.6.1 Justification of choosing convenience sampling technique....................................23
3.7 Data collection technique...............................................................................................24
3.7.1 Justification of choosing primary data collection technique...................................24
3.8 Data analysis technique..................................................................................................24
3.8.1 Justification of choosing qualitative data analysis technique.................................24
3.9 Accessibility issues........................................................................................................25
3.10 Ethical considerations..................................................................................................25
3.11 Summary......................................................................................................................25
Chapter 4: Data Analysis.........................................................................................................26

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4.0 Introduction....................................................................................................................26
4.1 Interview........................................................................................................................26
4.2 Summary........................................................................................................................28
Chapter 5: Results and findings...............................................................................................29
5.0 Overview........................................................................................................................29
5.1 Event safety risk typology (Part 1).................................................................................29
5.1.1 Crowd safety and crowd control.............................................................................29
5.1.2 Technical and logistics hazards...............................................................................30
5.1.3 Fire and electrical risk.............................................................................................30
5.1.4 Event venue and location........................................................................................30
5.2 Event safety risk typology (Part 2).................................................................................31
5.2.1 Emergency services.................................................................................................31
5.2.2 Security risks and issues..........................................................................................32
5.2.3 Environment Risk and Hazards...............................................................................32
5.2.4 Financial risks and insurances.................................................................................33
5.2.5 Other safety risks.....................................................................................................33
5.3 Summary........................................................................................................................33
Chapter 6: Conclusion and recommendations..........................................................................34
6.0 Conclusion......................................................................................................................34
6.1 Linking with objectives..................................................................................................34
6.2 Recommendations..........................................................................................................35

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6.3 Future scope of the study...............................................................................................36
References................................................................................................................................37
Appendix 1...............................................................................................................................42
Interview questions..............................................................................................................42

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.0 Research background
Managing of risks and safety in an event is one of the most important things, as it
helps in planning out the event in a proper manner. This helps the event management team to
meticulously plan out the structures so that any type of risks can be mitigated when the event
is being held on a particular date (Glendon, Clarke and McKenna 2016). The United
Kingdom holds many events in a particular year through different event management
companies so that it can help the programs to be successful in nature. This has helped the
country to draw more number of audiences towards the programs so that the ticket sales can
be increased thereby increasing the level of profit as well (Kristiansen 2013). During my stint
in a renowned event management company known as UKME, I was able to understand that
the organization takes utmost measures so that it can address the issues that are related to risk
and safety. It is done by involving different parties so that the main areas can be investigated
on a priority basis. However, from the work within the organization, I have seen that there are
no specific tactics or minimum requirements that can help in mitigating the risks that may
take place during an event. The organization keeps everything in place so that on the outbreak
of a risk, it can be managed in a proper manner (Modarres 2016).
1.1 Event management introduction
The concept of festivals and events within a country helps in promoting the factor of
tourism along with the development of the region since the period of 1990. This is due to the
fact that the event industry is global in nature and acts as a generator for tourism between the
countries and the place where the event is being held (Van Der Wagen ad White 2018). In the
recent times, it can be seen that most of the events are being held by the skilled and trained
professionals so that any kind of risks can be mitigated within the event. The use of extensive

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research has helped in developing this particular field along with the use of the technological
advancements. The development of knowledge along with the infrastructural facilities has led
to the enhancements and better evaluation of the events that are taking place within the
countries. The start of the festivals help in generating better revenue, as many tourists are
attracted due to its occurrence (Haddow, Bullock and Coppola 2017). Examples of this would
be the Glastonbury Festival, which draws people from all over Britain in to a particular place,
which results in boosting the level of revenues as well. Therefore, it can be stated that this
industry has grown to a great extent and has helped in attracting a large number of tourists as
well.
1.2 Problem Statement
Safety, security and managing the risks of an event are a collaborative and complex
process that needs to be done with the combination of different experts belonging to various
fields so that the environment where the event will be help can be safe and secure (Haimes
2015). The legislation known as Occupational Safety and Health Act does not provide any
safety guidelines regarding the issues that are associated with events. Therefore, it is
necessary for the organizations to understand the importance of the awareness so that the
event planners along with the venue managers can act in the best interest to safeguard the
audience who are coming for the event.
From the above scenario, it can be stated that managing the risks of the events in an
inadequate manner may become a major problem for the project to take place within a
particular place and there may be a huge loss of profits as well.

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1.3 Purpose of the study
The primary purpose of this research would be to understand the safety and risk issues
with the perspective of the venue managers and event planners that are present within the
British industry and particularly in UKME.
1.4 Aims and objectives
The study will be based on the following aims and objectives:
 To get a better understanding on the concept of risk and risk perception so that it can
be adapted within the field of event management
 To examine the various perceptions of the managers present in Britain regarding the
issues of safety and risks in managing and planning the events
 To examine and identify the various types of risks that are related to the employees
and attendees for the event
 To provide different typologies of categories of risks by identifying the factors that
are faced by the practitioners within the event management industry in Britain
1.5 Research questions
The research will be based on the following questions:
1. What is the concept of risk and the risk perception that needs to be adapted within the
event management?
2. What are the different perceptions of the managers with respect to the safety and risks
in managing and planning the events?
3. How to identify and examine the different type of risks that are related to the
attendees and employees of the event?
4. What are the different typologies and the risk factors that are faced by the
practitioners in the event industry located in Britain?

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1.6 Structure of the Study
The research will be divided in to five chapters where the first chapter is the
introduction that will contain the research objectives and the questions based on which the
research will be done. The second chapter will consist of the review of literature where the
important variables and factors will be discussed so that previous researches can help in
understanding the topic in a better way. The third chapter consists of the method through
which the research will be conducted so that it can help in identifying the different tools that
are present and select the right options. The fourth chapter consist of the analysis and findings
based on the interviews that will be conducted of the managers. This chapter will shed light
on the present day scenario hat is present in the event industry so that the research can be
done on the recent incidents. The fifth chapter consists of the conclusion and
recommendation part where the recommendations will be provided based on the findings of
the research. The conclusion will help in providing the analysis in a brief and the objectives
that have been taken up for the study will be linked as well.

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Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.0 Overview
2.1 Event management
The traditional form of event management is a predecessor of the tourism that takes
place in the modern world and can be traced back to the time in Rome as well. However, after
1960, this industry started to grow as the rise of the events and festivals has led to attract
more number of tourists so that it can lead to the generation of revenues (Masterman 2014).
As commented by (Atkins and Moyer 2013), events can be described as the fastest and the
most exciting form of leisure that can be related with the tourism business. The field of event
management is growing on a rapid scale, which has helped in transforming the world and in
the past decades it can be seen that organizations are taking more professional workers
instead of the amateur ones. However, as argued by Bhatt, Manadhata and Zomlot (2014),
this is due to the fact that the work related to managing the events can be conducted in a
proper manner and the resources can be used in a successful manner as well. The use of event
management in the recent period has helped in understanding the foundation that has been
laid with respect to the festivals that needs to be organized. Different authors have also
suggested that there needs to be an approach that is formal in nature with respect to the
management and planning of the event.
It is the process through which a particular event is planned, prepared and produced
so that it can be successful in nature. The job of the event manager is to look after the overall
things that are present in the event, which is inclusive of researching, organizing, planning,
implementing and evaluating the various aspects of the event such as design, activities and
the production (Pearcy et al. 2014). It is a very complex field that involves the application of
various practices of management so that different festivals can be created and developed as