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Winter Wonderland Hyde Park, London

EVM5A2 Risk Management for Events Chiara Carpegna

Agathe Loy Irina Trofimovskaya

Date: 27 November 2012

EVM5A2-‐‑ Risk Management for Events

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Table of Contents

SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................... 3

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 3

RISK MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................................... 4

TARGET AUDIENCE ............................................................................................................. 5

RISKS ......................................................................................................................................... 6

PHYSICAL RISKS ................................................................................................................ 6

FINANCIAL RISKS ............................................................................................................. 7

ORGANISATIONAL RISKS .............................................................................................. 8

WEATHER RISK ................................................................................................................. 9

REPUTATIONAL RISK .................................................................................................... 10

CONCLUSIONS AND RECCOMENDATIONS ............................................................... 11

APPENDIX ............................................................................................................................. 13

OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................................... 13

PHYSICAL RISKS .............................................................................................................. 14

FINANCIAL RISKS ........................................................................................................... 15

ORGANISATIONAL RISKS ............................................................................................ 16

WEATHER RISKS ............................................................................................................. 17

REPUTATIONAL RISKS .................................................................................................. 18

BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................... 19


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SUMMARY In this report we will produce a Risk Management Plan for Winter Wonderland. The objectives of the work are to analyse the event in details, identify all the possible risks that might occur and suggest a possible solution to them. Firstly, we will start with a brief background on the history of Winter Wonderland and his importance. Then, we will identify the nature of the target audience and its implications. Secondly, we will continue defining Risk Management, his importance and the relation between the topic and the event. Thirdly, we will analyse the types of risks that may occur, who might get involved in the eventuality that the risk turn up, how to prevent and avoid the risks and the procedures to be used if the risks ever arise. Finally, we will conclude with an overall overview of the Winter Wonderland Risk Management Plan, its consequences and some recommendations to the event organizer.

INTRODUCTION Winter Wonderland is a Christmas event organised every year by PWR (event company) and the Royal Parks in London. It takes place from the beginning of November until the very beginning of January. The event is hosted in Hyde Park, London since 2006. It is a free entrance and you can enjoy a Christmas market, typical food and beverages as well as roller coasters and even see Father Christmas! The main objective of the event is to create a real unique atmosphere in order to celebrate Christmas by making this event free entrance: everyone can participate and be part of it. In addition, this is a great opportunity for the PWR company to increase its reputation by staging such an event. (See appendix for detailed objectives)


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RISK MANAGEMENT “Risk assessment is the formal assessment of the relevant hazards and the potential severity of the outcome.” (Bladen et al, p. 203. 2012) Risk management looks at the relevant hazards of an event. It is the study of possible risks at a specific event. The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) is the official organisation regarding events risks management.

The most important thing in risk management is “Duty of Care”. This means that the event manager is responsible for everyone. In order to control what might happen and minimize the possible risk, every event manager should conduct a risk assessment. Within this risk assessment there is a specific process to follow:

ASSESS – PLAN – MANAGE – CONTROL

These four processes have to be applied to all the aspects of an event. These are: • Administration / Planning • Budget / Financial • Logistics / Operations • Personnel / Suppliers • Attendees / Audience • Infrastructure / Environment • Time

The different aspects of risk management that need to be covered are physical, reputational, operational and financial risks. Weather risk has also been outlined due to the time of the event (winter).

This will look at the different types of risks, as provided above, first by identifying them, looking at who they could harm but moreover how to prevent them and eradicate them in case of emergency. We will also use a segmentation analysis to define the target audience.


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TARGET AUDIENCE To identify the target audience or population, defined as “a particular group of people, identified as the intended recipient of an advertisement or message”(2012, The Business Dictionary).

The three criteria that was followed made up by Jobber (1998) to develop a segment profile for the event are:

• Behavioral segmentation: taking in consideration that this event consist in different types of entertainment and attractions, the target will be divided into groups according to their interest in the different types of attractions.

• Psychographic segmentation: the attention is mostly focused on the kind of life style of the costumers and on their personality. The target will look for lovers of fun, food and Christmas.

• Profile segmentation: the profile segmentation is about age, gender, social class, level of education and residential location. The event will be mostly focused on family with children, teenagers, groups of young people and adults. It is an event that can attract a wider rank of people due to the different typologies of entertainment.

Overall, Winter Wonderland targets a large rank of people, which will then increase the amount of possible risk due to the fact that everybody is able to access it.


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RISKS

PHYSICAL RISKS

The physical risks of an event are considered to focus on what could harm the people, the equipment, the products and services.

People:This area covers everybody and anybody attending or around the event. This basically looks at the possibilities of what could harm those people, e.g.: possibility of a fire. There are people cooking food, using electricity and gas, which could easily lead to a fire. Having the proper equipment is crucial in case of emergency. Even though Winter Wonderland is Hyde Park in a very open space, it is important to control the crowd to prevent accidents or panic

Equipment: In this case it covers anything that has to do with setting up. For example, if the equipment were malfunctioning, this would cause closure for some of the rides or no ability to serve food.

Product: This covers product being sold. E.g.: If the food is contaminated, this would create major problem and would lead to serious injuries. If the different objects bought at the Christmas market weren’t up to their expected quality, costumers would complain and this could have an impact on the reputation of the event as well. Services: This event offers different services such as the rides for example. If something goes wrong with the rides it would lead to massive injuries or even death of the public in extreme cases.


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FINANCIAL RISKS

Financial risk is “the probability of loss inherent in financing methods which may impair the ability to provideadequate return.” (Business Dictionary, 2012)

The financial risks identified are:

Foreign exchange: Visitors and tourists might not have the right currency exchange (pound) and they want to pay with their currency exchange (euro, dollar..). To prevent this from happening, we should identify an exchange rates shop close to the venue and send the visitors there to change the money.

Natural Disasters: From the financial point of view, the event organiser would lose everything, as if for instance it would be a hurricane, it would destroy everything. We can prevent the financial loss by making insurance for natural disasters.

Insurance: The insurance company might not cover the entire financial loss, or the event manager might have not insured something so the insurance company do not have to pay. To prevent this from happening, always insure every risk that might occur and for the higher value possible; although the insurance is expensive, it is better to prevent a big loss.

Cash flow: The event organiser pays for services before money has been received from attendees. If nobody turns up, the event organiser will not have a return. To prevent this risk, we should advertise the event and raise awareness in order to attract people and pay just a part of the services and pay the rest at the end of the event.

Man-‐‑made disasters: As for the natural disasters, the event organiser would have the main financial loss. Again insurance is crucial. Moreover, security staff should control and notice any unattended action.


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ORGANISATIONAL RISKS

The organisational risk is very important in the creation of an event. Organisational risk contains the regulations, process and planning, the procedure of making the event and the suppliers. For this specific event, the report also looks at the quality and the time management regarding the suppliers.

Regulations: the regulations are necessary for every event. Permits are needed in the case of serving food up to having roller coasters. The lack of permits could lead to the cancelation of the event. If the law is not followed accordingly, serious fines to the organising company could be given.

Process / Planning: Process and planning are important because it gives a clear idea of what the event is going to look like. Also if the planning and process take too long, this could cause a delay in the event opening day which would then lead to a loss of profits and affect the reputation depending on the attendance.

Procedures: Procedures are similar to regulation. This considers how everyone should behave. In the case of an emergency, if the procedures are not followed, this could make the incident worse. Also when building the rides, if certain procedures are not followed, this could cause harm to the suppliers and workers.

Suppliers: Within the suppliers, it is important to look at the quality of what they supply especially food wise. Also time management with the supplier is significant to prevent products from being late and having the ability to supply everything.


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WEATHER RISK

Winter Wonderland takes place in winter months, and therefore it is essential to consider the risks associated with cold weather. According to BEM Clima, weather risk is “the potential economic, and therefore social, losses derived from adverse movements in certain climatic variables”. Weather risk varies from heavy storms and hurricanes to unusual weather fluctuations, even when minor.

Bad weather:Winter weather can be sometime unpredictable, and therefore festival organisers have to be prepared to react for possible damages caused. Rain and snow may cause the ground to be wet and slippery and therefore the organisers have to have preventing actions in place. For example there shall be signage for wet areas particularly in populated areas such as the entrance/ exit, toilets and catering facilities. Also there shall be procedures in place to protect the employees and their work environment. If the weather gets very bad the festival will have to close for few hours/ days what in turn will cause a financial loss to both festival organisers and the suppliers.

Lighting:During wintertime it gets dark early and the organisers have to address this matter. They have to guarantee enough lighting in the most populated areas and provide enough light for employees to execute their work properly. Poor lighting may cause visitors and employees to get lost or get injured. The lighting shall be on until the last customers leave the festival and the employees their duty.


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REPUTATIONAL RISK

According to Business Dictionary, Reputation Risk is “The risk that a company will lose potential business because its character or quality has been called into question”.

Negative media coverage: In case of negative media coverage all the event stakeholders can be affected and that in turn will damage its reputation for a short and long term. If anything happens during the festival, it may reduce the attendance for the rest of the festival and there won’t be enough time to improve the image. Low attendance because of damaged reputation will decrease the potential revenue. In the long run, which can be the next year, suppliers may be reluctant to make business with the organisers and associate their brand with them. In addition the organisers have to monitor the social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook because today customers tend to give instant feedback. An example can be a long waiting line. Such issue may cause families with small children to avoid it because the children will lose patience and/ or the parents wouldn’t like the children to be long outside in the cold weather.

Decline in attendance:Every year the festival is becoming more and more popular and attracts more attention, therefore it is in the interest of both the organisers and suppliers to make the most profit from attractions and food and beverages sales.

The prices on the festival are slightly higher than usual, and therefore the suppliers have to provide good quality of food and drinks and good service. Failure to do it will result in complain and bad word of mouth that may prevent customers from coming.


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CONCLUSIONS AND RECCOMENDATIONS

The report analysed the risks related to the nature of the event and included physical, financial, organisational, weather and reputational risks.

After analysing and describing the potential risks, several recommendations can be applied to each of them.

Physical risk: Because it is a public event, during pick hours there nay be problem to manage the crowd. Because the audience is so diverse, ranging from families with children to teenagers who can be easily intoxicated, there shall be more information on the website regarding any medical assistance. This information may be helpful for families who have concerns taking their children. In addition the organisers can create days reserved to be just “family days”, so there won’t be clashes in interests and better management of crowds.

Financial Risk:After looking on the attraction prices, it appears that they are very high, which may affect the cash flow during the event. Families with children and young teenagers are price-‐‑ sensitive and if the prices are too high they may avoid doing several attractions or to avoid repeat visits. The prices shall be coordinated with the prices for food and beverages so the visitors can spend longer time on-‐‑ site, experiencing all it has to offer. In addition, as the festival attracts more international tourists, it is not indicated on the website rather they accept foreign currency.

Organisational risk: Unfortunately there is no information for potential suppliers on the website of the eventor of the event company. The information on the company’s website is very limited for potential employees and suppliers, what some may suggest is not professional enough and may turn-‐‑ off big suppliers. In addition, Twitter link does not function.

Weather risks:On the website of Winter Wonderland it states “Winter Wonderland is an outdoor event so make sure you dress appropriately as we open in rain, snow or shine!. This is inappropriate statement to make because it will put employees and visitors in danger in case the weather become severe. This shall be reconsidered and revised.

Reputational Risks:With the growing importance of social media, there shall be an experienced communication team in place to handle the social media channels. Unsatisfied customers may influence events reputation instantly using social media. In addition, the media today picks up information posted on Twitter and Facebook faster than ever before. In the case of Winter Wonderland, they gave out the press related issues to the company AKH Communications, whose website is “currently undergoing a re-‐‑design” and this does not make a good first impression.


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To conclude, after analysing all the possible risk, we can see that there are still actions to be taken to make it more secure and resilient to potential risks. To the outside visitors the potential risks are not seen, and they may not be aware of them at all, but it is to the event’s organisers to take the risk assessment to be their priority and assure that all the necessary measures are in place to guarantee the future of the event.


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APPENDIX

OBJECTIVES

Despite that objectives are not stated publicly by the event organisation it can be assumed that they are the following:

-‐ Increase revenue for the event company PWR -‐ Increase revenue for the city of London (e.g. -‐‑ Royal Parks). -‐ Promote London as an event destination. -‐ Attract tourist to London and promote London as a city. -‐ Raise awareness of Winter Wonderland in order to attract more visitors next

year. -‐ Create the opportunity for everyone to celebrate and experience Christmas. -‐ Create Job opportunities.


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PHYSICAL RISKS

What are the hazards?

Who might be harmed and why?

How can we prevent this from happening?

What should be done in case of emergency?

Fire A case of fire could occur because of cigarettes in the premises but also electricity, gas around food area, lightening.

-‐ All staff using culinary equipment is trained

-‐ It is forbidden to smoke on roller coasters

-‐ Extinguishers should be available around the festival

-‐ Local emergency staff -‐ Festival staff trained to

use extinguishers

Rides In the cases of collapsing rides, the public and the staff could be harmed. People falling off the rides caused by lack of safety. Pregnant people, kids, or people with special medical conditions could be harmed because of the intensity of the rides.

-‐ After building the rides, experts review each rides, consider their safety and that they are properly built

-‐ An evaluation of which rides can support heavy weather conditions should also be done. Rides that present risk in relation to weather should be shut down when appropriate

-‐ Pregnant people, kids, or people with special medical conditions are not allowed on the rides or at their own risks

-‐ In case of a ride default, a technical team should be on site to investigate if appropriate or not

-‐ In case of a breakdown of a ride people should be evacuated

-‐ Emergency staff always present

-‐ Kids should be measured according to the rides and people with special conditions shouldn’t be allowed on risky rides

Crowd Management

In case of an emergency, the public needs to be evacuated safely, or else this could harm individuals. Even during the event, crowd management is a very important aspect as a big crowd could always go wrong

-‐ The venue is very open (Hyde Park)

-‐ This doesn’t change that only a certain amount of people should be allowed on the premises and controlled by staff

-‐ Queues for attractions should also be controlled has well as the number of people on the roller-‐‑coaster, this should be done by trained staff

-‐ Having open space and not a lot of obstacles that could affect the evacuation process

-‐ In case of an emergency, the public should be evacuated by professional staff through different exits to prevent overcrowding at the same point


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FINANCIAL RISKS

What are the hazards?




Foreign exchange

Visitors and tourists might not have the right currency exchange (pound) and they want to pay with their currency exchange (euro, dollar..)

-‐ We should identify an exchange rates shop close to the venue and send the visitors there to change the money.

-‐ Pay with credit card

Natural disasters

From the financial point of view, the event organizer would lose everything, as if for instance it would be a hurricane, it would destroy everything.

-‐ We can prevent the financial loss by making an insurance for natural disasters.

-‐ If a natural disaster come and we are not prepared, we should try to save everything we can.

Insurance The insurance company might not cover the entire financial loss, or the event manager might have not insured something so the insurance company do not have to pay. (For example, if someone set a fire and the event manager has not insured the event for fire, the insurance company will not pay).

-‐ Always insure every risk that might occur and for the higher value possible.

-‐ Although the insurance is expensive, it is better to prevent a big loss.

-‐ Have regard for the non-‐‑insured things.

Cash flow The event organizer pays for services before money has been received from attendees. If nobody turns up, the event organizer will not have a return.

-‐ Advertise the event and raise awareness in order to attract people.

-‐ Pay just a part for the services and pay the rest at the end of the event.

-‐ N/ A

Man-‐‑made disasters

As for the natural disasters, the event organizer would have the main financial loss.

-‐ As for before, we should insure for man-‐‑made disasters, that could be the setting of fire or a bomb or may others

-‐ Security staff should control and notice any unattended action.

-‐ Again, in case of emergency we should try to stay in a safe place trying to put in safe all the financial values.


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ORGANISATIONAL RISKS What are the hazards?




Time Management This might have a negative effect on the festival if the products are not delivered on time. This could also affect the reputation of the suppliers. This also counts for the amount of food and drinks needed at the event.

-‐ Efficient planning of the products and materials needed to be delivered

-‐ Time management depending on how long manufacture of the products and materials needs to take

-‐ Back up suppliers -‐ Finding a compromising

solution (ex: using products that take less time to make or fast food)

-‐ Closing some of the food stands or delaying the event

Quality This might have an impact on the public and the staff. Bad quality food and drinks could also affect the reputation of the event.

-‐ Looking into allergies

-‐ Experts controlling the quality of the food (date of which the food expires)

-‐ Looking into the reputation of the suppliers

-‐ Medical type should be on site

-‐ Compensation of the costumers if not satisfied by the food

-‐ Back up supplier

Permits Food and alcoholic beverages are served at the Winter Wonderland. In the UK, the drinking age is 18 years old. This could harm the public but also the events reputation towards the law.

-‐ Checking permits for serving alcohol

-‐ Checking permits regarding materials needed and being made

-‐ The suppliers need to stop supplying the event

-‐ Alcohol license should be provided


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WEATHER RISKS What are the hazards?




Trip, slip and fall The public and staff might suffer from fatal injuries if they happen to slip or fall. This could happen because of spillage on the floor, or slippery because of weather conditions. Staircases, roller coasters and even pathways could be dangerous. Winter Wonderland also has an ice rink, which can cause major falls.

-‐ Pathways should be salted during bad weather conditions

-‐ Electrical cables should be managed

-‐ Signs indicating slippery floors

-‐ Lights around staircases

-‐ Handles on every staircase

-‐ Staff around dangerous premises (roller-‐‑coasters)

-‐ Children without adults are not allowed on the rink

-‐ People who have abused of substances are not allowed

-‐ Cameras are forbidden

-‐ Local emergency team

-‐ Staff all around in order to help

-‐ When raining, make sure that some areas will be resistant to wet (e.g.-‐‑ when boarding on attractions)

-‐ If necessary close attractions when the weather conditions are bed

Lightening

During winter time it gets dark very early and therefore it is necessary to provide enough lighting for guests to arrive safety to the festival site. In addition it is important for the employees to be able to have enough light to execute their tasks properly and be safe during their duty. Low lighting may cause visitors and employees to fall and get injured.

-‐ Provide enough signage and lighting for visitors to get to the site

-‐ Make sure the light is on until all employees leave the site

-‐ Add audio for directions and important announcements

-‐ Local emergency team

-‐ Staff all around in order to help

-‐ Increase lighting in highly attended areas

-‐ Additional signage -‐ Volunteers/

employees who direct visitors to the site

-‐ Add recorded announcement regarding opening and closure times

-‐ Closure of shortcut pathways after it got dark


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REPUTATIONAL RISKS What are the hazards?




Negative media coverage

The organisation will suffer due to chaos and incoming inquiries and complain from public, media and suppliers The employees will be affected because customers may ask them questions which they don’t have the answer to, or provide wrong answers. The suppliers will be exposed to the press and their image will suffer as well as their sales. Also it may damage future relations with the organisers. The image of the sponsors may suffer.

-‐ Nominate one person responsible for the media

-‐ Give employees media training that they know how to behave when media approaches them

-‐ Send out information to suppliers and sponsors and inform them about the situation

-‐ Nominate one person who will handle media inquiries

-‐ Brief suppliers before the event how to behave in case something happens.

Decline in attendance Suppliers may suffer because their sales will decline The employees will suffer because there will be too less work and they will become bored

-‐ By maintaining good and long term relationships with the suppliers

-‐ To have a pool or full-‐‑ time and temporary staff and make sure that everyone is well allocated

-‐ At all times have good communication with the suppliers and the employees and communicate to them what’s going on

-‐ Provide good customer service regardless the situation


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BIBLIOGRAPHY WEB-‐‑SITES

-‐ Are you a Fair Organiser -‐‑ Fairgrounds. 2012. Are you a Fair Organiser -‐‑ Fairgrounds. [Online] Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/fairgrounds/organiser.htm. [Accessed 18 October 2012].

-‐ Bladen, Kennell, Abson, Wilde, CB, JK, EA and NW, 2012. Events Management -‐‑ An Introduction . 1st ed. UK: Routlegde.

-‐ BME Clima, 2012. What is weather risk?[ Online] Availablehttp://www.bmeclima.es/aspx/Comun/Pagina.aspx?id=ing&l1=Riesgo&f=Home[Accessed 19 October 2012].

-‐ BusinessDictionary.com, 2012. Marketing segmentation [Online]Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/market-‐‑segmentation.html#ixzz1paF1q4Mj [Accessed 27 October 2012]

-‐ BusinessDictionary.com, 2012. Reputation Risk. [Online] Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/reputation-‐‑risk.html [Accessed 19 October 2012].

-‐ BusinessDictionary.com, 2012. Target Audience [Online] Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/target-‐‑audience.html#ixzz2Ac4Bp7ff [Accessed 27 October 2012]

-‐ Event safety -‐‑ Crowd management. 2012. Event safety -‐‑ Crowd management. [Online] Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/event-‐‑safety/crowd-‐‑management.htm. [Accessed 18 October 2012].

-‐ Event safety -‐‑ Fire safety. 2012. Event safety -‐‑ Fire safety. [Online] Available at:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/event-‐‑safety/fire-‐‑safety.htm. [Accessed 18 October 2012].

-‐ FAQs | Winter Wonderland 2012. 2012. FAQs | Winter Wonderland 2012.

[Online] Available at: http://www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/plan-‐‑your-‐‑visit/faqs. [Accessed 18 October 2012].


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BOOKS

-‐ Rutherford Silver, J. , 2008. Risk management for meetings and events. 1st ed. Oxford: Elsevier Ltd.

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