The Purple Guide was created by the events Industry forum, in collaboration with the UK events industry, to assist event planners in safely running events.

This guide is intended to direct event planners and suppliers to the practices and issues that must be addressed, for safety reasons, when planning events. All events have their own requirements and needs, so the 34-chapter guide is essential in understanding what should be considered when running a safe and successful event.

Below we have outlined 9 of the chapters that we think are the most important to consider when running an event –

1.    Health and Safety

When running an event, you are required by law to comply with health and safety regulations. You are liable to consider the health and safety of workers and the general public attending the event. Other health and safety areas need to be considered in the run-up to and during your event, such as entertainment licensing, fire safety, and sports ground safety, outlined further in the Purple Guide.

2.    Planning, management, and risk assessments

Efficient planning is essential for a safe event. It is crucial to create a safety plan and put in place adequate management arrangements to ensure the health and safety of everyone at the event. At all stages of the event, you should continuously assess the risks within your health and safety plan to ensure it is adequate.

3.    Venue and site design

You should conduct a site suitability analysis early in the planning process once you have found a venue, including your event type and the number of attendees in that assessment. This should help you create emergency routines and enable you to communicate with key stakeholders such as landowners, local authorities, local businesses, emergency services, nearby businesses, and residents.

4.    Contingency and emergency planning

No matter the size of your event, it is important to communicate with the emergency services and other relevant agencies to make suitable emergency plans. It is essential to have good procedures to effectively respond to disruptive influences, health and safety incidents, and emergencies that may occur at or impact an event.

5.    Medical

Before the event, a medical staffing plan should be developed to ensure an adequate level of medical, first aid and security staffing available at your event. It is also important to conduct an assessment of the medical and first-aid resources available.

6.    Transportation

Creating an internal and, if necessary external traffic management plan can help avoid severe and fatal accidents at your event. It is essential to separate pedestrians from vehicles as much as possible during the event, especially during peak hours.

7.    Crowd management

It is critical to ensure crowd safety before, during and after your event, by selecting the proper barrier system or fencing. First, you need to recognize the various types available, their strengths, and appropriate application uses. Then, choose a suitable supplier who will be able to provide all the necessary services required.

8.    Waste management

The inability to effectively manage waste at events has direct and indirect consequences such as risks to the health and safety of employees and visitors and risks to the environment. Therefore, event planners need to understand how waste will accumulate and should keep a close eye on this for the duration of the event, ensuring it is disposed of correctly.

9.     Safeguarding children and young people

Event planners should be familiar with the local and national child and young people legislation and requirements to ensure that children attending an event are kept safe and free from harm. It is integral to prepare a missing and found child policy and arrange lost and found children points. It is also important to consider providing a meeting point where parents can collect teens at the end of the event.

It is always essential to run an event as safe as possible, and the Purple Guide can help you do so. Its 34 chapters help guide you through some of an event’s most crucial planning areas to ensure things run as smoothly as possible. Each event requires a different emphasis on different health and safety issues, so it is important to review the guide thoroughly, ensuring all areas required for your event are covered; this is just a tool in helping and should not be used instead of the actual guide.