Over three hundred and fifty live event professionals participated Wednesday Nov. 13th in the industry’s first Webinar focused on promoting safety for live events. Sponsored by Take1 Insurance in conjunction with the Event Safety Alliance, the Live Event Safety Webinar was hosted by New Bay Media’s Rental & Staging News, with Executive Editor David Keene moderating. The archived Webinar is now available for all to access at this web site.
Jim Digby, President of ESA
Scott Carroll, Senior VP & Program Director of Take1 Insurance
Jim Digby, Executive Director of the Event Safety Alliance, (www.eventsafetyalliance.org) that he founded in 2011, presented the history and current scope of the Event Safety Alliance, focusing on the current standardization of safety practices within the staging and live event industries. Digby also drew on several decades of in-the-field experience as a top production manager– Digby currently serves as Director of Touring and Production for the multi-million selling artists Linkin Park, and has previously worked with artists as diverse as The Backstreet Boys, Bon Jovi, and Marilyn Manson.
The co-presenter at the Live Event Safety Webinar was Scott Carroll, Executive Vice President & Program Director at Take1 Insurance. Carroll provided the insurance perspective and addressed not only about the importance of having the right coverage but also about the likely pressures to be brought on live event producers to have certain event safety programs and training in place as a condition of coverage.
“We are thrilled with the turnout for this critically important first step in making event safety a first priority for producers of live events, the owner/operators of venues where live events are held, and the municipalities that host them, along with all live event service firms who work these shows every day” said Carroll. “Nearly 750 professionals registered for the Webinar, with 350 of those participating live… and the questions posted afterward revealed significant interest in this topic.”
According to Jim Digby, the new ESA Event Safety Guide will soon be available for purchase on Apple iTunes, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble as well as directly from the Event Safety Alliance website. Version 1.0 of the guide will be available at the LDI 2013 Conference and Tradeshow in Las Vegas (November 21-24) at booth #2363. Printed editions of the guide will be available for purchase on the Event Safety Alliance website next month. Additionally, eBook versions of the Event Safety Guide will be available for download at several online retailers including Amazon, iTunes and Barnes & Noble. Both formats of the guide will be sold for $49.95, with proceeds from all purchases helping the ESA develop additional resources and further the message of “life safety first."
Developed in response to a series of accidents within the live event industry, the Event Safety Guide is a collection of best practices culled from the experience and insight of top professionals within the event industry, as well as relevant life safety standards currently applicable by groups such as OSHA, NFPA, ICC and PLASA.
According to Carroll, the timing of the Webinar was perfect– as the Event Safety Alliance introduces the industry’s first comprehensive Event Safety Guide.
“The availability of this Guide is going to have a permanent impact on the way the insurance industry approaches coverage in the future. Insurance providers, like Take1 Insurance, are going to ask if clients know about the Event Safety Alliance, are aware of the Event Safety Guide, and use the Event Safety Guide to prepare an Event Safety Plan,” Carroll asserted. He advised everyone involved in producing live events to ‘underwrite the underwriter.’ “All carriers in the live event space are not alike. If your carrier doesn’t value what you do in terms of safety precautions, then maybe you should consider finding a carrier who does.”
“We’re all in this together — event producers, venue owner/operators, municipalities, promoters, and first responders,” added Digby.” We all have a legal as well as a moral obligation to make live event safety our very first priority when it comes to producing and staging a live event. The Event Safety Alliance was formed to make this goal a reality so that we no longer have to witness the tragedies that have occurred over the last number of years in Toronto, Rhode Island, Indiana, and Brazil. Together, we can make the production of live events infinitely safer for everyone involved.”
Scott Carroll said that Take1 Insurance (www.take1insurance.com), together with the Event Safety Alliance, will be hosting a series of follow up, subject-specific Live Event Safety Webinars in 2014.
