Introduction
Festivals are exhilarating celebrations, but behind the scenes they are complex operations involving multiple agencies and teams. Police, fire services, medical responders, private security, and city authorities all have critical roles in a large event. If each works in isolation, the result can be chaos – miscommunication, duplicated efforts, or slow emergency responses. To avoid this, successful festival organizers around the world turn to a single unifying approach: the Incident Command System (ICS). Adopting ICS with a multi-agency command structure ensures everyone operates from one game plan rather than separate silos, keeping attendees safe and the event running smoothly.
Why Unified Command Matters at Festivals
Large-scale festivals – from music events in the U.S. and Europe to massive religious gatherings in India – all share a need for tight coordination between different agencies. The Incident Command System (ICS) was originally developed for disaster response, but it has become a gold standard for planned events. Why? Because one structure beats many silos. Under a unified command, a festival’s security teams, emergency medical staff, police units, fire brigade, and even city officials collaborate in real time. This unity prevents confusion over who’s in charge during a crisis. For example, incident investigations into past tragedies have found that lack of unified command led to critical delays or conflicts. The 2021 Astroworld concert in Texas, for instance, highlighted how disjointed command and communication can contribute to disaster. Conversely, many successful festivals credit their safety record to multi-agency command centers where everyone shares information instantly. In short, unified command gives clarity, speed, and cohesion when it matters most.
Understanding ICS: A Common Framework
ICS (Incident Command System) provides a clear framework that any festival can tailor to its size and needs. It defines standard roles and communication protocols so that all responders speak the same language during an event. Importantly, ICS is scalable and international: it’s used not just in the United States but in countries like Canada, Australia (under the AIIMS system), New Zealand, and by emergency planners in Europe and Asia. At its core, ICS means setting up a single command post and organizational chart for the event, rather than each agency running its own separate command tent. This unified approach fosters cooperation. For example, a music festival in the UK might use the local Gold-Silver-Bronze command structure (similar in spirit to ICS) to ensure police, ambulance services, and festival staff make joint decisions. No matter the country or terminology, the principle is the same: bring all key players under one command structure so that there is a single point of truth and direction.
Unified Command Post: One Team, One Location
A practical step in adopting ICS is establishing a Unified Command Post at the festival site. This is a physical or virtual coordination center where leaders from each major agency and the event team sit side by side. Picture a trailer or tent outfitted with radios, screens, and maps of the venue – inside, the festival’s security director, the police incident commander, the fire service commander, the head of medical response, and city event coordinators are all working elbow-to-elbow. By co-locating, they can share real-time information and make decisions together. If a situation arises (like a fire on stage or a severe weather alert), the police, fire, and medical leads aren’t scattered in different locations; instead, they immediately confer and agree on a response plan. This eliminates the lag of passing messages between separate command centers. Unified command posts have been used effectively at major events worldwide – from New York City’s New Year’s Eve celebrations to large European festivals – allowing faster emergency reactions and consistent information flow. The presence of all decision-makers in one room means no single agency is left in the dark.
Tip: Create a Joint Ops Manual
Before the festival, develop a brief “joint operations manual” for the Unified Command Post. This document should list all key commanders, direct contact numbers, maps, and the agreed protocols for common scenarios. Having a shared reference ensures that when multiple agencies converge, everyone follows the same playbook.
Pre-Assign Roles, Alternates, and Manage Span of Control
Effective ICS implementation starts long before show day. Festival organizers should pre-assign critical roles within the incident command structure during the planning phase. Key positions include an Incident Commander (or Unified Command group), section chiefs for Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Admin, and important supporting roles like a Safety Officer, Liaison Officer, and Public Information Officer. If the festival uses a unified command, the Incident Command might be shared by a senior festival producer alongside officials from police or fire – ensuring all perspectives are represented at the top.
It’s vital to designate alternates or deputies for each major role. Festivals often span many hours or days, and leaders need rest or could be called away. By assigning a second-in-command (for example, a Deputy Operations Chief or an assistant Safety Officer), the command structure remains intact even if someone is off-duty or unavailable. In one international EDM festival, the lead medical coordinator fell ill on day 2 – but because an alternate was pre-designated and briefed, medical operations continued seamlessly. Redundancy in leadership is key to resilience.
Another cornerstone of ICS is maintaining an appropriate span of control. This means each supervisor should manage a limited number of direct reports (commonly 5 to 7 people) to stay effective. In a festival context, that might translate to a Security Chief overseeing a handful of zone supervisors, rather than trying to give orders to 50 security guards individually. Likewise, the Operations Chief might have separate leads for areas like staging, camping, parking, and concessions reporting to them. By structuring the team into manageable units, information flows better and tasks don’t overwhelm any single manager. A good rule of thumb: if a festival manager finds they are directly coordinating with dozens of staff or agencies, it’s time to break the operation into smaller teams with their own leaders. Clear hierarchy and delegation prevent overload and mistakes.
Case in Point: Smooth Operations at a Mega-Festival
Consider the Tomorrowland festival evacuation in 2017, when a sudden stage fire forced 22,000 attendees to be evacuated in Barcelona. Thanks to a well-structured command system, security teams and first responders were already organized in units with defined leaders. When the incident occurred, the festival’s Operations Chief quickly relayed instructions to zone supervisors, local police directed crowds calmly, and medical teams stood by – all without confusion. The incident was resolved with no serious injuries. This success stemmed from a pre-planned hierarchy where everyone knew their role and backup, exemplifying how span of control and role assignment make a life-saving difference.
Tabletop Exercises with All Stakeholders
Assigning roles on paper is not enough – practice is essential. One of the most effective ways to prepare for festival emergencies is to conduct tabletop exercises that include all major stakeholders: law enforcement, fire officials, emergency medical services, city or county emergency management, and key festival staff. In a tabletop exercise, the group gathers around a table (or virtually) to walk through simulated incident scenarios step by step.
Start by choosing realistic scenarios that could happen at your event. For example:
– A severe thunderstorm approaching, requiring a site-wide evacuation.
– A stage structure collapse causing mass injuries.
– A lost child incident in a huge crowd.
– An electrical fire in a food vendor area.
– An active threat situation.
During the exercise, a moderator describes the unfolding situation, and each agency lead explains what their team would do. The police might detail how they’d secure exits and deploy officers; the medical lead describes triage setup; the festival operations team discusses how to stop the music and make announcements; city officials might outline how to activate wider emergency alerts or transit plans. As everyone talks through the response, gaps in coordination become apparent in a no-stakes environment. Perhaps the police realize they weren’t informed of the nearest trauma hospital, or the festival team discovers not all security staff have rain gear for a storm. These findings are gold – they allow the plan to be improved well before the festival.
Tabletop drills also build relationships and trust. When the actual festival day arrives, the faces in the command post will be familiar, and each agency knows how the others will behave. For instance, Australian festival producers often run pre-event exercises with local emergency services due to frequent bushfire and weather risks; this preparation has paid off when sudden evacuations were needed, as everyone had rehearsed their roles. The same holds true globally – whether it’s a carnival in Brazil or a concert in Singapore, a joint practice session with police and responders ensures that when seconds count, the team acts as one cohesive unit.
Tip: Involve the City Early
Bring in city officials and permitting authorities into your exercises and planning. Often, they can offer resources or impose requirements that you need to integrate. Their presence also means faster approvals and support if you demonstrate that safety is your top priority through unified planning.
Communication Plans and Plain-Language Protocols
Communication breakdowns are a common culprit in festival incidents. A solid communications plan is the nervous system of your multi-agency command. Start by ensuring all parties can actually talk to each other. This may involve distributing radios to agency leaders and establishing shared channels, or using an interoperable radio system where police, fire, and festival security can all communicate. In some cases, a liaison with dual radios might bridge different networks – but the key is that no responder group is unreachable. Well before gates open, create a communications matrix listing who is on which channel or phone number, and circulate it among all agencies. Make sure to include contingencies like backup channels and emergency contact lists.
Equally important is using plain language in all communications. Different agencies often have their own codes or jargon (police radio codes, medical terminology, etc.), which can confuse others. In a unified command environment, it’s best to agree on plain, easily understood terms for everyone. For example, rather than saying “10-13” or using a local slang for an emergency, simply say “medical emergency at Main Stage” or “fire reported near south gate.” This clarity leaves no room for misinterpretation. Many countries’ emergency protocols, including U.S. FEMA guidelines and U.K. event safety guides, explicitly mandate clear text communication for multi-agency operations.
To avoid panic or confusion, also prepare plain-language scripts for critical announcements. If an evacuation is needed, have a pre-written announcement ready that instructs attendees calmly and clearly on what to do, in multiple languages if your crowd is international. Share these scripts with all agencies and staff so everyone knows what the public will be told. Consistency is crucial: the police on the ground and the festival MC on stage should deliver the same message. Rehearse a few of these announcements during drills so the first time anyone uses them isn’t during a real emergency.
Lastly, invest in robust communication tools. This could mean a dedicated festival operations channel, a group messaging app for key leaders, or even satellite phones for remote locations. At a Canadian outdoor festival, for instance, cell networks overloaded during an emergency, but the unified command had prepared by equipping staff with satellite text messengers and hard-wired field phones. The result: inter-agency communication never ceased, even when consumer cell service failed. Plan for redundancies so that one communication failure doesn’t break the whole system.
One Structure, No Silos: The Power of Unified Response
In the high-stakes environment of a festival, there’s no room for ego or isolated thinking. One structure beats many silos – this mantra underpins every successful multi-agency festival response. By adopting the Incident Command System and setting up unified command posts, festival producers create a culture of partnership among all players. When an incident happens, instead of finger-pointing or waiting for “someone else” to handle it, the unified team jumps into action with clear leadership.
Real-world outcomes reinforce this approach. A lack of coordination has often turned an incident deadly, while unified command has repeatedly been shown to save lives. For example, after-action reports from a major European sports festival noted that a potential crowd crush was averted because police and event security were sharing the same real-time crowd density data at the command center and jointly made the call to slow entry gates. In contrast, a review of the tragic crowd surge at Astroworld pointed out that security, medical, and police each had separate operation centers and fragmented communication. The lesson is clear and universal: integrated command isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity for large events.
Unified command and ICS also streamline the mundane parts of festival management. Not every incident is front-page news – it might be a power outage in part of the venue or a VIP needing emergency escort out. Even in these routine hiccups, having a single command structure means the issue gets logged, delegated to the right unit, and resolved without fuss. The festival continues smoothly while the crowd barely notices any problem.
Continuous improvement is part of this ethos. After the festival, a unified debrief with all agencies can review what went well and what needs adjustment. Maybe the medical team found that the on-site clinic was too far from the main stage, or police suggest better lighting in a dark parking lot. Feed these insights into next year’s plan, refining the unified command process further. Experienced festival producers treat multi-agency coordination as an evolving art – each event makes the next one safer and more efficient.
Key Takeaways
- Adopt ICS and Unified Command: Use the Incident Command System (or your region’s equivalent) to bring all agencies under one coordinated structure. One team with one plan is far safer than multiple disconnected plans.
- Co-Locate Command Posts: Set up a unified command center where festival officials, police, fire, medical, and others work side by side. Physical proximity improves communication and trust.
- Pre-Define Roles and Backups: Assign key leadership roles (Incident Commander, Operations, Safety, etc.) well before the event. Designate capable alternates for each role to cover shifts or emergencies, ensuring continuous coverage.
- Maintain Span of Control: Structure your team so no leader has too many direct reports. Create units or sections (security, traffic, medical, etc.) with their own leads to keep oversight effective. This avoids overload and chaos in a crisis.
- Practice with Tabletop Drills: Don’t wait for a real emergency to test your plan. Run joint tabletop exercises with police, fire, EMS, and city officials to role-play different scenarios. This practice exposes gaps and builds a confident, coordinated team.
- Establish a Clear Communications Plan: Make sure all agencies can communicate seamlessly. Share radio channels or communication tools and use plain language for all calls. Avoid agency-specific codes that others might not understand.
- Prepare Emergency Scripts: Have clear, pre-approved public announcements ready for potential emergencies (evacuations, severe weather, etc.). Ensure all staff know these scripts so the public gets one consistent message.
- Break Down the Silos: Foster a culture of collaboration where every agency and festival department shares information freely. Unified command breaks down barriers, allowing faster decisions and a stronger safety net for festival-goers.
25th August 2025