Crowd Safety at Large Events
Deaths in crowds are rarely caused by panic or people being trampled. They are caused by pressure: so many people in one space that they cannot breathe. It builds slowly and then becomes impossible to escape. The time to act is early, while you can still choose where to stand and which way to walk.
1. Before the event
- Look at the venue map. Note at least two exits, including ones that are not the main entrance.
- Agree a meeting point outside with your group, and a time to meet if you are separated. Phones often fail in big crowds.
- Wear closed, sturdy shoes. Avoid long scarves, straps and loose laces.
- Charge your phone, and write a contact number on a card or on a child's arm.
- With children, stay at the edges and leave before the end.
2. Read the crowd
- Comfortable: you can move your arms freely and turn around.
- Warning: you are touched on all sides and cannot easily raise your hands to your face. Leave now.
- Danger: the crowd sways or moves like a wave, and you are carried without walking. Get out by any route.
- Avoid bottlenecks: narrow passages, stairs, tunnels, slopes, barriers and the area right in front of the stage.
3. If you are caught in a dense crowd
- Stay on your feet. If you drop something, leave it.
- Keep your arms up in front of your chest, like a boxer, to protect the space you need to breathe.
- Do not push against the flow and do not stand still against it. Move with it, and work diagonally towards the edge during the moments when the pressure eases.
- Stay away from walls, fences and pillars, where pressure is highest.
- Save your breath. Do not shout unless you must.
- If you fall, try to get up at once. If you cannot, curl on your side and protect your head and chest with your arms.
- Help others who fall to stand up. A crowd where people help each other is safer for everyone.
- Warn staff or call the emergency number early if you see dangerous pressure.
4. After
- Go to your meeting point. Text rather than call.
- Anyone who was compressed, fainted or has chest pain should get medical help.
- Give first aid if you can. See Terrorist attacks for what to do if the cause is an attack.
Quick checklist
- Two exits noted
- Meeting point agreed
- Sturdy shoes
- Contact number on paper
- Leave when you cannot raise your hands freely
See also Civil unrest, Families with children and all risks.
Sources
Educational material based on general crowd-safety guidance. Always follow instructions from event staff and local authorities. Last reviewed: November 2026.