ONE DIRECTION

The SES Group was again the chosen provider of security and crowd management during the One Direction tour in the UK. Working alongside venue security staff they marshalled and handled a young audience with clear expertise and empathy. From the opening of the doors on the final three sell out dates of the tour at Wembley, the SES Group were ready for any eventuality.

The MD of the company had been out to South America to work on the previous leg of the tour so that he could pass information onto his team about how the audience behaved and any issues which might arise in the UK. Thus the SES team were forewarned and forearmed at every turn. After a series of well-managed sell out shows in the UK the SES Group were ready for the Wembley finale.

Carefully briefed and well-trained personnel were strategically placed both behind the barrier and in the stadium, not only to help with any issues but to spot them early on and deal with them as appropriate. Specialist briefings were given and response teams were utilised to help in all of the areas of the event.

One Direction is an unusual phenomenon, which can only be likened to Beatlemania. The event kicked of with a support band, which helped the SES team to gauge the mood of the audience. It was clear that many of those attending would not last the event owing to them getting extremely excited during the build up. When One Direction hit the stage many of the audience near to the front were overcome and had to be escorted from the crowd to a place of safety. This was carried out by waiting stewards working with paramedics to ensure that these members of the audience were dealt with in and safe and efficient manner.

The SES Group were not only trained in advance to deal with the event but were extremely well prepared and briefed at every level to deal with anything coming up during the show. AEG hailed the tour as a “brilliant success” and thanked the SES Group for their diligent and caring approach.