Sport Safety Conference 2024
Date: November 8, 2024
Location: Kingspan Stadium, Home of Ulster Rugby
Cost: Free
Join Us at the leading Conference for Sports Safety in Northern Ireland.
On November 8th, 2024, Kingspan Stadium, the iconic home of Ulster Rugby, will be the home of sports safety. The much-acclaimed Sport Safety Conference returns, promising an inspiring day focusing to the latest in safe stewarding and transforming venues to suit different and specific events and competitions. The conference will be MC’d once again by BBC’s Thomas Niblock.
Why Attend?
Industry-Leading Insights: Discover the latest trends and best practices in sports safety from top experts in the field.
Networking Opportunities: Connect with professionals, industry leaders, and peers who share your commitment to making sports venues safer and more efficient.
Innovative Solutions: Explore cutting-edge technologies and strategies that are reshaping the way we think about venue management and safety.
Featured Speakers
Stay tuned! Full speaker details will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Venue
Kingspan Stadium
The hallowed ground of Ulster Rugby, Kingspan Stadium is the perfect setting for a conference dedicated to excellence in sports safety and venue management.
Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to be at the forefront of sports safety and venue transformation. Mark your calendar for November 8th, 2024, and join us at Kingspan Stadium for a day of learning, networking, and innovation.
Register Now
Secure your spot at the Sport Safety Conference 2024 and be part of the conversation that is shaping the future of sports venues.
The Sport Safety Conference, over the years.
Virtual delivery of an in-person conference
Having worked with DfC’s Sport’s Branch delivering the Sports Safety Conference pre-pandemic we were expertly placed to understand how the format of their conference worked, and how best to transform it to a fully virtual conference for the attendees whilst having live and remote speakers presenting from the SSE or from where they were in the world during the 2022 pandemic
Our solution focused on ease of access for the attendees, whilst zoom became second nature to many of us during lockdown, for others it would be a hurdle that would stop them from accessing this conference which wasn’t acceptable. For that reason we created a bespoke site that required no accounts or downloads, just played from the start regardless of the device you were on. Agendas and question submission was a click away and backup streams available on YouTube should any work networks block the primary stream.
Of course, that was only part of the solution and a huge amount of work went into creating a live studio where our broadcast could be delivered from. Opening words to our client on arrival were, “ Be prepared, this looks like a TV studio!”
Sports Safety Conference - 2017-19
The first Sports Safety Conference hosted by the Department was held on 24 March 2017 in Ulster Rugby’s Kingspan Stadium and was attended by stakeholders across a range of backgrounds including sports grounds owners and operators, sports governing bodies, sports clubs and those from the emergency services who are involved with managing safety at sports events. This event included local and national speakers and covered topics including ‘The Stewarding Experience’; ‘Managing Safety at Dundrod International Road Race’ and ‘Policing at the UEFA 2016 European Championships’.
The 2018 Sports Safety Conference was held on 23 March in the National Football Stadium, Windsor Park. Once again local and national speakers delivered presentations on a range of safety topics including ‘Managing Safety and Security at The Open 2017 at Birkdale’; ‘The Sports Grounds Safety Authority review of its safety guidance i.e. the Green Guide’, ‘Cyber Security’ and ‘Crowd Flow Analysis’.
The 2019 Sports Safety Conference was held at Tyrone GAA Centre of Excellence in Garvaghey. Once again the conference proved to be extremely popular with representatives from central and local Government, Emergency Services, sports Governing bodies and clubs, sports ground owners and operators in attendance.
Industry experts shared their knowledge and experience on a very broad range of subjects including Ken Scott, Chief Inspector of the Sports Grounds Safety Authority, Tom McGuinness, Events & Safety Manager for Croke Park, Jonas Bogaert from The European Stadium and Safety Management Association and Benjamin Steen from Bayern Munich FC.
Sports Safety Virtual Conference - 2022
Having hosted three Sports Safety Conferences, at Kingspan Stadium, the National Stadium and Tyrone GAA Centre of Excellence at Garvaghey, the Department, supported by Sport NI, recently hosted its fourth conference, “The Sports Safety Virtual Conference” at the SSE Arena.
Following a welcome from the Interim Permanent Secretary, Moira Doherty, the virtual audience heard contributions from a number of speakers who were sharing their experience of managing safety at sports grounds. The Speakers included Ken Scott, Mark Holland and Peter Weymes who work for the Sports Grounds Safety Authority. They covered a range of stadium specific presentations including a look at the pilot on safe standing.
Lloyd Major MSc, CEO & Co-Founder at Halo Solutions Ltd, was delivering his presentation remotely from the F1 Paddock at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, his work location that day. Lloyd provided an insight into the significant challenges facing event organisers following the Manchester Arena bombing.
The second part of the Conference was a discussion panel involving Paula Bradley from Ulster Rugby, Claire Cosgrave from the SSE Arena; Anita Hamilton from the IFA and Stephen McGeehan from Ulster GAA. The panel, who were on site at the SSE Arena, discussed the challenges their sports had faced during the pandemic, the lessons learnt and how planning for and delivering major sporting events has changed. The Panel shared their experiences of how COVID and safety have been managed in what was an ever changing situation.
Credits
Patrick Wood
Conference designer
Chris Ross
Technical Consultant
Suppliers
Infinity21