Europe/USA - Showstop Procedure courses have welcomed 125 event professionals since launching with The Pink Bows Foundation in the US at Houston Texas in March, followed by sessions in the UK and Denmark.
Course Facilitators Mark Hamilton and Steve Allen delivered two accredited Showstop Procedure courses, hosted by Roskilde Festival, 10-11 May. They welcomed attendees from across Europe including Paleo Festival and Engage Festival. The next (sold-out) courses will run in Dublin (Ireland) and Glasgow (Scotland) in the coming weeks, with future courses scheduled from September being announced shortly.
Steve Allen comments: “The overwhelmingly positive feedback we’ve received from highly respected industry safety and production specialists, along with all of the courses selling out, has been humbling. We’ve updated the syllabus and this weekend’s course content felt laser focused. There is no doubt in our minds that this (course) will contribute to a safer events culture as we roll it out across the world.”
The ability to stop the show decisively was also one of the desired learning outcomes after the accident at Roskilde Festival in the year of 2000. Roskilde has developed, evolved and consistently improved its emergency procedures year on year, recognising there are still old, new and emerging safety challenges in the global entertainment industry.
Having attended the courses across both days, Morton Therkilsden, director of safety, Roskilde Festival, states: “Never stop learning and improving! I believe that we have a good system for stopping a show at Roskilde Festival and RFX. We still hosted a course on Showstop procedure today on behalf of Pink Bows Foundation. Wow, that was good!”
Also present thought the weekend was Pascal Viot, security coordinator at Paléo Arts & Spectacles and Yourope Event Safety Group, (Association of European Festivals). Pascal says: “The first certified European Showstop Procedure course at Roskilde Festival was delivered with outstanding clarity and professionalism by Mark Hamilton and Steve Allen, on behalf of the Pink Bows Foundation. This course is part of a collaborative international initiative I am proud to co-develop, to promote a shared culture of responsibility and create global standards for stopping shows safely.”
