Protection of sporting events

Sports events, if you take, for example, Kiev, are quite massive events. Especially if we are talking about team sports. Often, tens of thousands of fans gather at a stadium in Kiev to cheer for their favorite team, for example, a football team. The same thing happens in sports palaces when famous boxers, wrestlers, basketball teams, etc. perform. Emotions during such competitions are heated to the limit, which often leads to undesirable consequences, both for the organizers of such events and for very influential guests who are fond of sports excitement. In addition, there are also sporting events such as races, marathons, bike rides, swims, in which thousands of ordinary people participate.

The security company, which the organizers involve to ensure the safety of such events, takes on a huge responsibility, so it must have the appropriate staff, high potential, competent employees and teamwork.

Protection of sporting events and competitions depends on the number and size of facilities, adjacent territories, the number of planned visitors and the scale of the event. Accordingly, the price of protecting such a sporting event cannot be low, because in addition to protecting the stadium as an integral facility, the security company is also responsible for the safety of visitors, VIPs who decide to watch it, etc.

Before the start of the event, the security company develops an individual plan and examines the specifics of the territory and objects. At the preparatory stage, the guards identify potentially dangerous areas and remember all the entrances and exits. Before the start of the competition, it is mandatory to inspect objects and territory for suspicious explosive substances. Also, special attention is paid to the development of scenarios:

• terrorist acts;
• emergency situations;
• violations of public order;
• material damage from the actions of intruders;
• attempts on the life of participants or dignitaries.

Having worked out these issues, the main tasks for a set of protection measures are formed.

Take football championships as an example, as football fans are some of the most active, emotional and often some of the most aggressive. They either share the joy of their team's victory or the bitterness of defeat. It is very important that these emotions do not interfere with other participants in the holiday.

Given the large number of people at such events, they can be classified as events with a high degree of terrorist threats. Several organizations and departments are working to ensure their safety. This is a security company, SBU, the police and the state security service. Accordingly, the requirements for the level of interaction are very high. At the same time, the event should not be militarized - the holiday should remain a holiday. Therefore, guests of the event will meet with security officers only in a number of locations, such as the entrance area, control frames, recreation and entertainment area, technical areas, VIP places.

As a rule, guests will not see. They will not see the long and painstaking (sometimes months) preparation required for such an event; the work of technical services dealing with safety; they will not see the police in the immediate area of ​​the event (unless in an emergency).

The nuance of such large sporting events is that inside the zones occupied by visitors, the security reacts only to minor violations, and, in fact, is a communicator with law enforcement agencies. Because the police and the SBU react to gross offenses, which have all the legal rights to suppress such actions in the most severe way, since, we repeat, such major sporting events are an area of ​​increased attention due to the high possibility of terrorist threats.

The main tasks of security are:

• access control;
• ensuring control of the adjacent territory and perimeter;
• control of public order, safety of property;
• organization of measures for anti-terrorist operations and fire-fighting actions;
• suppression of riots, fights and prevention of the penetration of prohibited substances and items;
• organization of internal control and verification of personnel before the start of events and after its end;
• inspection of forgotten things;
• interaction with law enforcement agencies and the transfer of offenders to them.

The TOPGUARD case contains security for such landmark events as: UEFA Champions League Final 2018 (Kiev), Eurovision-2017, 2018 (Kiev), Euro 2012, 2018 (Kiev), UEFA Super Cup 2015 (Tbilisi), Formula -1, 2015 (Malaysia), broadcasts of the TV programs "Voice of the Country" and "Voice of Children" on the TV channel "1 + 1". We controlled security and access control using stationary and portable metal detectors at concerts, seminars, business forums, conventions, summits, which were held on the territory of Hyatt Regency, Hilton, Fairmont Grand Hotel, Khreschatyk, etc.

TOPGUARD has repeatedly provided security at the "Olympic" stadium in Kiev, as well as at the stadiums of Donetsk, Kharkov, Lviv. We have experience in ensuring the safety of events with a large number of visitors also in such locations as the International Exhibition Center, the Parkovy Exhibition and Convention Center, the Sports Palace, the Ukraine Palace, etc.

TOPGUARD is a partner of FIFA and UEFA in providing security for European football matches. In addition, TOPGUARD is recognized as one of the best international security companies in providing mass events.

What is the secret of success, and what is necessary for your sports festival to be successful and its safety to be at the highest level. Our answer is simple - a high-class team, potential, competence, experience and the necessary resources. Here is an example of how the security company TOPGUARD, one of the leaders among non-governmental security companies in Ukraine, organizes the security of a major sporting event.

All employees of the company work in well-coordinated teams that participate at different stages in the implementation of ensuring the safety of sports events.

Management . Preparation for ensuring security at such mass events at TOPGUARD begins with the involvement of high-quality experienced management at the negotiation stage. With the organizers, they talk over the entire structure of the events, dates, determine the locations where, a few days before the event, the necessary equipment is installed, food products, advertising products are brought in, etc.

HR service . As a rule, the protection of such large-scale events requires a large number of guards. For example, during the Champions League final in Kiev from the TOPGUARD company, about 300 security officers were involved. During EURO 2012 in Ukraine, TOPGUARD provided the organizers with 1200 guards in five cities of Ukraine, where the games of the final part of the championship were held. Note, that not just people were involved, but personnel with different levels of competence, with different pay levels and for performing different functions. But they all had the appropriate experience to carry out the tasks delegated to them by the organizers. Various groups were represented: guard posts, bodyguards, power groups, etc.

Bodyguards . In any event of this class, in addition to ensuring general safety, it is also required to provide teams of representatives of the competing parties. This can be the personal security of VIP guests, heads of companies, high-ranking organizers of the competition, security officers for teams or individual participants in the competition, when it comes to martial arts.

Reserves . Given the large numbers of people present at major competitions, it is not uncommon in the zones to change the security configuration. In addition, as a rule, at the time of the competition, we have applications from participants for the provision of personal security services, since one of the VIP guests, whose presence was not planned, nevertheless decided to attend the event.

Sometimes, in order to somehow save on security services, the organizer hires a company with personnel who have low qualifications and competence, but who take on the cheapness and number of guards to guard certain areas. Practice shows that quantity does not replace quality, but more does not mean better. Therefore, in some cases, the organizer had to change such protection, and, accordingly, incur additional costs. For such cases, TOPGUARD has a reserve team, the number of which is 10% of all personnel involved in the security of the event.

Technical support team . Its tasks include: providing other teams with stable two-channel communication; providing technical means in the response zones - a variety of sensors and video surveillance cameras.

Paramedics . In such events, medical services are centrally used, but often representatives of the customer (or customers) want security at their locations locally and autonomously, for example, the location of sponsors or teams. They want pre-medical care to be provided as quickly as possible in case of emergency. TOPGUARD provides such assistance and provides the necessary equipment in such locations when people are visiting them. They are on duty at locations.

Provision and logistics . Their duties include properly equipping a large number of security personnel, calculating the route and delivering them to the security facility in time, organizing their meals, etc.

Special management group . These are people who directly communicate with the client; know the whole picture in detail - what is happening and at what locations. In addition, in each protected area there is a local security officer, to whom all the processes for organizing security in his location are closed.

Transport . There is one more component - transport. As a rule, when such sports events take place, even in car rental agencies, transport is in short supply. During such events, the “rent a car and drive up” formula usually does not work. The reason may be traffic, parking, ignorance of the city, and the lack of an experienced driver. TOPGUARD has the potential to tackle this problem as well. It can be minibuses for technical staff, economy class cars for other customer groups, up to business class cars and armored cars with drivers and bodyguards for VIPs.

Thus, in order to effectively conduct an event in terms of ensuring its safety, it is necessary to carry out colossal work. (Therefore, the price for the protection of such a sporting event, and even more so in Kiev, cannot be low). Sometimes this work begins a year before the actual event. A few months before the start of the event, it is spoken out in more detail. And before the event itself, the final scenario is worked out, in which the locations, the final number of people who will be involved in ensuring the safety of the event, the installation of the necessary equipment and communication mechanisms are determined.

If the hired security company meets all the requirements set out above, then the customer has every chance to hold his event at the proper level.