What should you include in an event risk assessment?

1 Why do an event risk assessment?

An event risk assessment is not only a legal requirement, but also a good practice to ensure the safety and well-being of your attendees, staff, suppliers, and the public. By doing an event risk assessment, you can anticipate and address the possible risks that could cause harm, damage, or disruption to your event, such as fire, weather, crowd, security, health, or environmental issues. An event risk assessment also helps you comply with the relevant regulations and standards, and demonstrate your duty of care and professionalism.

2 What are the key elements of an event risk assessment?

An event risk assessment consists of four main elements: hazard identification, risk analysis, risk control, and risk review. Hazard identification is the process of finding out what could go wrong at your event, and who could be affected by it. Risk analysis is the process of estimating the likelihood and severity of each hazard, and ranking them according to their level of risk. Risk control is the process of deciding what actions to take to eliminate or reduce the risks, and who is responsible for implementing them. Risk review is the process of monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of your risk control measures, and making any necessary adjustments.

3 How to do an event risk assessment?

An event risk assessment is not a one-time task, but rather a continuous process that begins at the early stages of planning and continues until the end of the event. To do an effective assessment, you should define the scope and objectives of your event, consult with stakeholders to gather information and feedback, use a risk assessment template or tool, identify hazards that could affect your event, analyze the risks associated with each hazard, control the risks by selecting appropriate measures, review the risks regularly and update your risk assessment accordingly, and communicate your risk assessment to stakeholders. Additionally, assign roles and responsibilities for carrying out risk control measures, set deadlines and budgets for them, check progress and effectiveness of control measures, make changes or improvements as needed, and ensure stakeholders understand and follow procedures and policies.

4 What are some common event risks and how to manage them?

When organizing an event, it's important to be aware of and prepared for common event risks, such as fire, weather, crowd, security, and health. To prevent or control fire risks, ensure your venue has adequate fire safety measures and train your staff on fire prevention and emergency procedures. To mitigate weather risks, monitor the weather forecast and have a contingency plan for extreme or adverse conditions. Crowd management is key: plan and implement effective crowd control measures and conduct a capacity assessment and a crowd flow analysis. For security, conduct a security assessment and have a security plan that covers the venue, assets, staff, and attendees. Lastly, comply with health and hygiene regulations and standards and have a health and safety policy with a first aid kit and trained first aider on site.

5 What are the benefits of doing an event risk assessment?

Doing an event risk assessment can bring many benefits, such as improving the quality and reputation of your event, reducing costs and liabilities, enhancing efficiency and productivity, and increasing the confidence and satisfaction of your attendees and stakeholders. You can deliver a safe, smooth, and enjoyable experience for your attendees while avoiding or minimizing potential losses, damages, or claims. You can also plan and execute your event more effectively and efficiently, while demonstrating your professionalism and competence to meet or exceed expectations.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?