Background
Parklife is a two-day music festival featuring multiple stages and areas of entertainment. Staged in Heaton Park, Manchester, it has a daily capacity of 80,000 festival-goers.
Casa Bacardi is an activation by Creation designed and constructed on two levels using multiple, re-purposed shipping containers. Featuring a bar, DJ booth and dancefloor on the ground floor and an additional bar and viewing areas on the upper floor, the activation was positioned in a prime spot within the festival near to the VIP entrance.
A Safety Officer from OPS was on site to manage Casa Bacardi throughout the live hours of the festival. Their responsibilities included making daily checks of the activation to ensure it was ready to be opened to the public and working with the security team to ensure the venue capacities were adhered to. Our team was also responsible for implementing show stop procedures if required.
Challenges
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Entry to Casa Bacardi operated on a first come, first served basis, and proved to be extremely popular and busy throughout the weekend. With limited capacities of 351 on the ground floor and 97 on the upper floor, these had to be continuously monitored and managed by the Safety Officer and involved constant communication with both the security supervisor and security personnel deployed at the various entry and exit points.
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An appropriate queuing system was put in place in which customers expectations surrounding wait times had to be proactively managed.
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The festival took place in extreme heat which brought its own challenges for the staff.
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A storm, with heavy rain, thunder and lightning, on one day of the festival led to a temporary show stop throughout the festival site.
Delivery
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Given the nature of the construction of the Casa Bacardi activation, a full evacuation was required upon the show stop being called by Event Control. Given the risks from lightning on a metal construction, the evacuation had to be completed efficiently and quickly whilst considering the wet and slippery conditions.
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The Safety Officer managed the evacuation, working closely with the security to ensure all guests and staff were moved onto the grassed area in front of the activation. Barriers were erected and security deployed along their length to ensure guests were held at a safe distance from the metal structure.
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Once Event Control confirmed the event could continue, the Safety Officer completed a safety inspection of the structure. It was found rain had come through the roof on the upper floor making the bar area unsafe. Whilst the public were allowed back onto the ground floor, the upper floor had to remain closed until the floor had been dried and made safe.
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Security were kept hydrated and encouraged to seek shade during their breaks. Additional staff were requested to cover those breaks given the importance of each deployment to the management plan.
Results
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The weather and popularity of the activation created challenges across the weekend. However, these, notably the show stop and evacuation, were successfully managed by the Safety Officer working with a good security team.
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Feedback from the client throughout the weekend was excellent and positive and the Casa Bacardi activation a huge success.
