Mass gatherings have been prohibited for months now as a countermeasure against the pandemic. However, there will eventually come a time when mass gatherings and live events will be allowed once again, especially once a safe and effective vaccine has been developed.
Despite the potential use of vaccines, event organizers should not become complacent. Health and safety should still be a priority for organizers and event venues. With that in mind, here are a few safety measures that you should implement in your event hall once mass gatherings and live events are possible again:
Conduct a pre-event risk assessment
Part of safety is in knowing what are the risks involved with the situation at hand. Using a scale from 1 to 5 (with 1 being low risk and 5 being very high risk), rate how the following potential hazards can affect the outcome of your event. Consider the following potential hazards in areas such as: fire, environment, equipment, crowd management, crew, first aid, weather, child protection, and catering.
After you have rated the aforementioned areas of possible hazard, identify who are at risk (crew, attendees, children, etc.) and how you will eliminate or reduce the risks to the persons involved. In this regard, you may choose to work with your outsourced event suppliers, local authority, and emergency units so that your risk assessment is as accurate as possible.
Provide adequate training for staff
Staff that are trained before an event can react better and are more equipped to provide services in an emergency situation. For example, if your event is expected to have a high number of attendees, consider mitigating the spread of contagious viruses. An event hall in Taguig such as the one located in Enderun Colleges provides sanitizing stations to clients who book the venue. Healthy and safety are of utmost importance to event organizers when it comes to managing high traffic areas. Things to consider include: parking sites, first aid stations, toilets, and emergency provisions. Consider placing healthy and safety information around the event venue and do a pre-event announcement to all attendees.
Having trained staff can also be a measure of ground-level surveillance since your crew interacts directly with the event attendees.
Choose the right venue for your event
Depending on what kind of event you’ll be having, the right venue can spell the difference between overcrowding and the most effective use of space. There are many event spaces in Manila, such as the venues offered by Enderun Events, that have venues with varying sizes. Having a profile of your event, the expected demographics of the attendees, and estimated number of attendees would help you choose the right venue.
Of course, safety features should also be a consideration. Ask your event venue about how frequently they can sanitize areas like bathrooms and lounges. Your event venue should also be more than happy to set up disinfecting foot baths at all entrances and contactless hand sanitizers in key areas.
Have a back-up plan for emergencies
Create a plan for emergency situations and discuss this with the venue organizer and staff. Things to consider include: the method in informing the attendees, how and when to raise the alarm, how to evacuate the attendees, how to access the onsite emergency facilities, how to handle casualties, how to manage traffic, and how to provide first aid when necessary.
Like with anything, prevention is better than the cure. It is wise to be mindful of potential hazards before any big event so that you can prepare accordingly.
