With terrorists now deliberately targetting live entertainment venues and events, Richard Smirke talks to some of Europe’s top security experts to hear how the industry is dealing with the increased threats.
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usic arenas have long been prepared for the possibility of a terrorist attack, but it was the tragic events of 22 May, when British-born Salman Abedi detonated a homemade bomb outside the 21,000-capacity Manchester Arena following an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people, many of them children, and injuring over 200 more, that confirmed the worst fears about the stark realities now facing venue owners and operators. “It happened in Manchester, but we all consider ourselves equally at risk,” says Neil Walker, general manager of The SSE Arena, Belfast. “Security and the health and safety of everyone who comes to our building has always been the number one priority in everything we do, from making sure a production is rolled in safely, to making sure the public are well looked after when they’re here,” he adds, “but it’s been elevated to an even higher focus now.” “What happened in Manchester brought it brutally home to everyone in the industry that this can happen anywhere,” agrees Reg Walker, director of Iridium Consultancy, which works with a number of UK venues and festivals on security matters. He says that the attack reinforced the need for a “seamless security operation and security in-depth” both inside and outside concert arenas, extending to transport hubs servicing venues. “We can’t be complacent over this,” he warns. “The problem with a Manchester-style atrocity is that you see adequate