The challenge of securing major sport events has never been more complex, particularly with the growing focus on their budgets and cost-effectiveness as well as the growing influence of technology at sport venues and stadia, according to Andrew Cooke, senior safety and security expert from the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS).
Speaking at a seminar session, ‘Safe / Smart Cities and Large Events Security Management’, at the recently concluded Milipol Qatar 2016, he highlighted the challenges faced by countries hosting major sport events.
He deliberated upon the importance of doing this at an earlier stage of the event life cycle. “The need for better integration and co-ordination around major event safety and security is vital, not only to ensure that major events are cost-effective and fall within budget but also to ensure fans, spectators, players and officials are properly protected.”
Cooke focused on several areas for hosts of major international sporting events to pay special attention to when developing their security plan in order to ensure their security arrangements are fully integrated alongside other stakeholders.
Emphasising that ‘one size does not fit all’ when it comes to safety and security around major sport events, he recommended five focus areas – intelligence sharing at local, government and international level, early stakeholder engagement and communication, flexible proactive and reactive approach to security risk management, affordability, human vs technology integration, flexible threat and risk assessment plan.
Highlighting the emerging trends in the sport security sector, the ICSS official pointed out that technology is now playing an increasingly vital role in the lives of sports fans and how they consume major sports events.
“As a result, this presents new challenges for sport security professionals. In particular, over the coming years I think you will see major events use behavioural and crowd technology as well as video analytics, biometrics and facial recognition in their security concepts.
“In addition, as the influence of mobile and digital technology inside and outside the stadia continues to increase, so will I think the threats and challenges around protecting our personal information and data.
“As a result, I think it will be increasingly important for host cities and countries to upgrade their cyber security technology and think this will be a growing area of interest for many major sporting events and venues, particularly in the short to
medium term.”