Event safety
Are you spending on the wrong risks?
Bruno Marx worked with jwc conultancy to examine the true cost of‘ showcase spending’ in event safety and security. He shares his insight here:
hen something goes wrong
W at an event, the story moves faster than the incident report.
The attempted attack at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington is a recent example. It was, by any measure, an exceptional security case: a highprofile political dinner, the most senior officials in the room, an armed suspect, a security checkpoint and the Secret Service involved. According to reports, the suspect allegedly ran through a checkpoint and fired at an officer, who was protected by body armour. The event then triggered exactly the kind of follow-up debate that now surrounds many high-profile gatherings: Was there enough security? Was the event given the right risk status? Should more visible protection have been in place?
Those are legitimate questions. But they also show how quickly the conversation after an incident moves toward what can be seen: more guards, more barriers, more screening, more perimeter control, more visible reassurance.
Sometimes, that is exactly what is needed. Sometimes, it becomes showcase spending.
Below: Time for the industry to address a lingering security imbalance
Showcase spending is money spent to demonstrate that action has been taken. It is visible. It is defensible. It reassures clients, boards, authorities and the public. But it can also pull attention and budget away from less visible risks that are more likely to disrupt an event, injure people or damage a venue’ s reputation.
A stronger security presence will not fix a weak contractor induction process. More access control will not compensate for blocked emergency exits. More guards at the entrance will not prevent an electrical fault during build-up, a delayed medical response, or a crowd-flow problem caused by a late layout change.
That is a lingering imbalance that our industry often fails to address.
The risks hidden in routine operations Event safety failures often begin with ordinary operational issues. Like a cable run that was not properly checked. Or a temporary structure signed off too casually. A forklift moving through a congested buildup area. A contractor working under time pressure. An emergency route narrowed by storage. A medical plan that looked adequate on paper but was not tested against the actual crowd profile. The list is endless.
None of this is unusual in the exhibition and convention business. And that is precisely why it matters.
Build-up and dismantling periods combine compressed timelines, heavy equipment, electrical work, temporary structures and multiple suppliers working in the same space. The organiser’ s own team may be well trained. The venue’ s procedures may be clear. But once dozens or hundreds of third-party contractors enter the site, the risk profile changes.
The same applies during live event days. A crowd management failure can become a 30-second video labelled“ chaos”. A preventable medical emergency can become a
34 Issue 3 2026 www. exhibitionworld. co. uk