Safety at New Year Celebration Events

If you’re in charge of a New Year’s event, it’s important that you understand the various health and safety concerns that you’ll need to plan ahead for. Partygoers and revellers will be looking to welcome in the New Year in style, so it pays to be prepared.

In this article, we’ll go over some of the main considerations in terms of health and safety at New Year’s events so that you can enjoy the night without any worries, especially if you’re hosting or organising.

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Seek expert advice

The first thing to consider when you’re in charge of a large event is to seek expert advice and guidance whenever possible. Reach out to a health and safety professional so that they can guide you through the correct procedures and plans that will guarantee a safe and fun event for all. They will be able to offer guidance with:

– Any relevant health and safety arrangements to control risks
– The co-operation and co-ordination of all work activities
– Ensuring employees have all the necessary information about any risks to their health and safety
– Ensuring staff can undertake their roles safely
– Monitoring health and safety compliance
– Reviewing your health and safety arrangements

Health and safety planning for a large New Year’s event

If you’re planning a public event, make sure that you understand your role in terms of health and safety. You have a few main responsibilities here, per the Health and Safety at Work Act, such as:

• Ensuring the health, safety and welfare of those in attendance
• Making sure all employees and volunteers are safe
• Considering any other parties who may be affected or impacted by the event

There are a lot of different considerations to factor into your plans, but you can use this guidance from HSE to ensure that you’re organising your event safely.

Consider your cabling

If your event has any live music or other stage performances, it’s likely that there will be lots of cabling going to and from the stage. It’s important that those in attendance can’t trip or damage this cabling, so it’s your responsibility to perform effective management. For example, you might want to consider cable basket matting to protect wires and to ensure no one damages the equipment or trips over.

Have a plan for emergency exits

It’s always a good idea to plan ahead in case an emergency occurs during your event. These types of gatherings bring a heightened risk of danger due to large crowds, consumption of alcohol and other potential risks, like fireworks and pyrotechnics. So, take the time to establish emergency exits for those in attendance.

You should aim to create a linear, blockage-free passage for emergency exits so that people can leave quickly and efficiently without falling or crashing into others. Try to determine how long an evacuation might take and plan ahead for contingencies like blocked routes. That means creating multiple exit points.

It’s also worth noting that you’ll have to take extra measures to help with the safe evacuation of any disabled people in attendance.

There are many other things to factor into your New Year’s event to ensure it’s safe for all in attendance. With a little bit of forward planning and adherence to government regulations, you can enjoy yourself without worrying about risking the lives or safety of others.