As Glastonbury is about to gentle up Worthy Farm as soon as once more this weekend, because it has performed most years since 1970, it’s not simply the music that’s making headlines – it’s the sheer scale of the operation. Welcoming over 200,000 attendees, Glastonbury is greater than only a competition, it’s a brief metropolis, full with its personal transport techniques, sanitation networks and emergency companies.
Thus, behind the scenes, months of planning and coordination go into ensuring that every thing runs easily, and central to that effort is likely one of the most important but usually neglected components – crowd administration.
In an surroundings the place tens of 1000’s of individuals are always transferring between levels, meals stalls, campsites and queues, managing the movement of individuals is crucial, not just for the sake of the consolation of festival-goers however, extra importantly, for his or her security. When performed nicely, crowd management retains spirits excessive, bottlenecks low and chaos at bay. However, when it fails, the outcomes could be catastrophic.
Whereas conventional strategies nonetheless play a task, know-how is now on the coronary heart of how large-scale occasions like Glastonbury function – not solely does it make it extra environment friendly, however today, it additionally supplies so some ways to enhance present techniques. From drones buzzing overhead to trace real-time crowd motion, to wearable tech and AI-driven monitoring techniques, the competition trade is present process a quiet transformation. These instruments aren’t simply flashy add-ons, they’re turning into important to conserving attendees secure, knowledgeable and in management. As a result of who needs to pay a fortune to go to a competition that’s imagined to be oozing with enjoyable solely to fret about security and organisation?
As festivals develop into greater and extra bold, the strain on organisers to keep up order grows too. And with previous tragedies recent within the trade’s reminiscence, the significance of sensible, efficient crowd administration has by no means been extra obvious.
With Glastonbury as soon as once more setting the tone for competition season, now’s the proper time to discover how know-how is altering the best way we expertise and safeguard stay occasions.
How Is Fashionable Tech Changing into the New Spine of Pageant Security?
Gone are the times when walkie-talkies and stewards with clipboards have been sufficient to handle the complexities of a contemporary music competition. We’ve gone far past mere individuals managing individuals.
At the moment, know-how is enjoying an more and more important position in conserving occasions secure, safe and operating easily. With huge crowds, unpredictable climate and the excessive power of stay music, festivals are high-risk environments, and real-time visibility is essential to managing them successfully.
One of the impactful instruments now getting used is drone surveillance. Drones provide a chook’s-eye view of all the website, permitting organisers to watch crowd density, spot bottlenecks and reply to creating points in minutes moderately than hours. When paired with AI-powered crowd analytics, these techniques can robotically detect uncommon motion patterns, congestion hotspots or unsafe behaviours – this may present safety groups with stay knowledge to assist them make knowledgeable selections shortly and in some circumstances, forestall issues from arising in any respect.
RFID wristbands and sensible entry techniques have additionally revolutionised how individuals enter and transfer round competition grounds. Not solely do they pace up queues and cut back fraud, however in addition they present beneficial insights into crowd movement and behavior. Some festivals are even implementing digital twins – that’s, real-time 3D fashions of the occasion house that replace dynamically primarily based on sensor and digital camera knowledge, permitting operators to simulate eventualities and regulate plans on the fly.
Sadly, the significance of this know-how turns into painfully clear after we have a look at festivals the place crowd administration has failed. For example, the Astroworld tragedy in 2021 resulted in a number of fatalities because of overcrowding and delayed emergency intervention. Woodstock ’99 spiralled into chaos partly because of poor infrastructure and insufficient oversight. In each circumstances, a scarcity of real-time knowledge and coordination made it unattainable to stop or reply shortly to escalating risks.
In contrast, right now’s digital instruments provide a proactive strategy. They permit organisers to plan extra precisely, adapt in actual time and finally forestall issues earlier than they come up. For attendees, meaning safer experiences, quicker entry and higher communication throughout important moments. As festivals proceed to develop in dimension and complexity, integrating sensible tech into crowd management isn’t simply useful, it’s turning into completely important.
RFIC Wristbands
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) wristbands have develop into a competition staple lately. At Glastonbury and comparable occasions, these wristbands are used for ticket validation, cashless funds and even entry management.
When scanned, they supply organisers with real-time details about the place attendees are coming into and exiting, serving to them to watch crowd motion throughout totally different zones. This knowledge can be utilized to stop overcrowding, redirect foot site visitors and establish strain factors.
In emergencies, figuring out the place individuals are concentrated will help direct medical or safety groups extra shortly. In addition they lower down on queuing instances and fraud, streamlining entry and bettering the general attendee expertise.
Facial Recognition
Though extra controversial because of privateness issues, facial recognition know-how is slowly discovering its place in competition security methods, particularly for entry management and safety. And today, it’s used generally in cell telephones and elsewhere too, so it’s not precisely uncommon.
Used at choose high-profile occasions, facial recognition can pace up entry by matching faces to registered profiles, lowering the danger of ticket fraud. Extra importantly, it may be used to flag banned people or individuals of curiosity to safety groups in real-time. Whereas it’s unlikely for use broadly at Glastonbury with out public session, it may play a rising position in back-of-house operations or restricted zones, the place managing workers entry is simply as necessary as controlling crowds.
Surveillance Drones
Surveillance drones provide a strong overhead view of competition grounds, which is especially helpful for sprawling websites like Glastonbury – the competition covers over 1,000 acres and has in extra of 100 totally different levels and efficiency areas, so there’s loads of house to cowl!
Drones outfitted with high-resolution cameras and thermal imaging can monitor crowd density, detect unsafe gatherings, and observe how individuals are flowing between levels or exits. In contrast to mounted CCTV cameras, drones present mobility and might give attention to altering hotspots in real-time. They permit organisers to establish bottlenecks or potential hazards earlier than they escalate, enabling speedy intervention from floor groups. Drones are particularly helpful at evening or in areas with poor visibility, the place recognizing issues from the bottom is harder.
Crowd Monitoring Software program
Superior crowd monitoring software program makes use of knowledge from cameras, drones, wristbands, and sensors to construct a stay image of how individuals are transferring via the occasion. These techniques can detect modifications in crowd density, flag erratic motion patterns and even predict crowd surges primarily based on historic behaviour or environmental triggers (like a headline act beginning).
For festivals like Glastonbury, this software program permits for proactive moderately than reactive crowd management. If a stage space is getting dangerously full, groups could be alerted to open various routes, regulate signage or talk with the gang through screens or cell alerts.
Good Turnstiles
Good turnstiles use sensors, RFID readers and facial recognition (in some circumstances) to hurry up entry whereas gathering knowledge. These techniques cut back bottlenecks at entrances and exits, guarantee solely authorised ticket holders get via, and assist monitor attendance in actual time. At festivals, they can be utilized to handle entry to totally different zones – issues like VIP areas, backstage or licensed bars.
For security, figuring out how many individuals are inside a given space is significant for implementing capability limits and getting ready evacuation plans. Turnstile knowledge will also be mixed with crowd monitoring to regulate crowd movement methods on the fly.
IoT Sensor Networks
IoT (Web of Issues) sensor networks play a behind-the-scenes however important position in fashionable crowd administration. These sensors could be positioned across the website to watch temperature, air high quality, sound ranges, crowd density and even floor vibrations. When mixed with analytics software program, this data helps organisers detect overheating in densely packed crowds, noise thresholds that would sign unrest or harmful surges in motion.
Some techniques additionally alert workers if short-term constructions are beneath stress or if climate circumstances change quickly. At a large occasion like Glastonbury, IoT networks can flip a competition right into a responsive, data-driven surroundings that adapts to circumstances in actual time.
