Key considerations when showcasing live sporting events at your venue

With a summer of sports in full swing, venues across the UK who have live sports showing – from football to cricket and netball to tennis, need to ensure they comply with the framework of laws and regulations to ensure their event is legal, safe and successful.

Health and Safety at Work Act (“HASAWA”)

Whenever an event is put on, there is a positive legal duty owed by employers to put in place all reasonably practicable measures to protect the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees.  The Act contains a mirror legal duty to also protect people other than employees, including contractors, visitors and volunteers. The HASAWA does not dictate that all identifiable risk should be eliminated, but it does say that risk should be identified, considered and that the appropriate control measures put in place. The key to identifying risks at any sporting event is to think of the event as a whole and to have key, trained people in place to undertake the appropriate risk assessments.

Event and venue risk assessments

Event and venue specific risk assessments are crucial and the HSE often comment on inadequate  generic risk assessments that do not address the specific risks. Risk assessments should cover all areas of risk which will be bespoke to your event, such as, what happens in the event of a fire, access and egress, emergency plans, crowd control, stewarding ratios and first aid. Most sporting events will require a separate fire risk assessment. All risk assessments should be written down, owned by a member of your team, continually reviewed and importantly, disseminated to all staff and volunteers.

Alcohol and music licences

If you plan to serve alcohol at your event – even if you’re giving it away – or play music, live or pre-recorded – you need to have appropriate alcohol and entertainment licences. These must be applied for in advance and will contain conditions which must be adhered to.

Noise, odour and pollution

A sporting event will likely have waste – whether plastic cups, confetti or lanyards, and everything in between. You need to consider where waste is going to be left and how it is going to be disposed of. Consider if you need a permit or if you need to liaise with the Environment Agency. Your event may also generate noise and odour – be this from crowd cheers, music – live or pre-recorded – or speakers announcing the scores and fireworks, food stalls or waste outlets. The Local Authority through the environmental health team will have noise and odour control limits; being too loud is a criminal offence. It is important to plan ahead and obtain the relevant licenses for your event.

Food safety

Food safety ensures the safety and wellbeing of everyone eating or drinking at your event. You should ensure your food, and that of any retailers, meets with the recommended Environmental Health standards. Some events could also require permissions or licences to serve food.

Insurances

A variety of insurance will be needed for any sporting event. These include:

• Public liability
• Employers liability
• Personal accident
• Property
• Commercial legal insurance

You should also consider what type of cover you will need should the event not go ahead.

Governing body sign-off or cooperation

If you’re hosting a sporting event you may need to liaise with your governing body to see if your event can be held or if it needs to be organised and branded independently.

Fan engagement

Your legal obligations cover the fans attending your event – this extends to “fan zones” outside the venue. It is vital to ensure that your health and safety arrangements and insurances cover these spaces as well as those attending the venue events.

Safeguarding, volunteers and DBS checks

Safeguarding participants, spectators, employees and volunteers, indeed everyone involved in your sporting event should be a top priority. Having a robust safeguarding policy, systems and training in place for those involved in the event will help to keep everyone safe and allow people to enjoy the event without safeguarding issues arising.

Sporting events use volunteers who are vital to ensure smooth running. Volunteers should be appropriately selected, trained and monitored. Equipping volunteers with the information they need is fundamental and all volunteers should feel informed and trained to do their role properly.

DBS checks are the best way to ensure employees are of good character however this is not always practical for sporting events that have potentially dozens – or hundreds – of volunteers. Having a safeguarding system in place with a robust safe recruitment policy is essential.

Behaviour

The behaviour of those involved in every aspect of the event needs to be carefully considered – enforcing good behaviour across the board is key to an enjoyable event for everyone. You should, as part of your pre-planning, have a Code of Conduct in place which is circulated to all those involved prior to the event and enforced as directed; zero tolerance of poor behaviour will protect your organisation’s reputation and that of the venue.

These are just some of the aspects that should be considered when planning a sporting event. There are, of course, other considerations to take into account regarding under 18s, employment and commercial issues.