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New standard for ensuring safe, secure, sustainable, and successful events published

In September 2022 ISO published the new standard, ISO 22379:2022 – Security and resilience – Guidelines for hosting and organizing citywide or regional events. The standard provides principles applicable to any host and organizer of citywide or regional events. In short, the guideline will assist regions, cities, event right holders, and organisers in ensuring the planning and execution of safe, secure, sustainable, and successful large-scale events.
World-class events such as the Olympic Games and World Championships can help put cities or regions on the map, all while attracting valuable visitor revenue and economic investment. They do, however, bring many additional risks. This new international standard is developed to help cities and organizers manage big events with public safety and security at their heart, all while ensuring an enjoyable and successful event experience for participants and spectators, as well as achieving economical sustainability by delivering the events within budgets and original funding.

The 32 pages standard will help hosts and organizers to plan and execute a safe, secure, sustainable event by:

  • introducing a process for cooperation between the host and organizer
  • identifying and involving relevant interested parties
  • identifying the economic, environmental, and societal impact caused by the event
  • establishing necessary measures to manage risks introduced by or affecting the event
  • establishing necessary measures to deliver the event
  • providing critical services to the public and to the event
  • providing interested parties and the public with information
  • providing future hosts and organizers of similar events with lessons identified
  • introducing an event legacy plan consistent with the long-term objectives for the city or region.
The standard is general and strategic and does not include detailed descriptions or how to plan and execute specific tasks. It is developed and organised based on the event hosting and organizing process, which systemize the different chapters in the document, and the stages and phases of the collaborative host and organizer process.

Ivar K. Lunde (Norway), Convenor of the working group that developed the standard, explains that what makes it so valuable and unique is that it will be a product of the lessons and learnings of many cities and event organizers worldwide.Ivar

“Attracting international events is seen by many cities as a way of promoting themselves on the global stage, but doing it successfully is a huge affair,” he says.

“In most cities, they start the planning from scratch, without the benefit of the shared expertise and best practice of others. This standard will bring together such learning for everyone to benefit from.”

Lunde says that the standard addresses all the key elements of preparing for, executing, and evaluating a major event in a sustainable and secure manner. The use of ISO 22379 will therefore not only improve the success of large-scale events but enable cities to host them in a way that also contributes to many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

It will furthermore help cities decide whether to host an event or not, as it enables them to identify the real risks and costs that will be involved early in the process, prior to the final decision. ISO 22379, Security and resilience – Guidelines for hosting and organizing large citywide events, provides guidelines and expertise on how to manage risks, public safety, and service continuity during a wide-scale event.

It is the first international standard of its kind, bringing together the knowledge and know-how of experts involved in hosting or planning major events such as the UCI Road World Championship in Bergen 2017, the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, the Winter Olympics in Beijing 2022, the Winther Olympics in Milano Cortina 2026, the Berlin Marathon, and many more. ISO 22379 is a necessary complement to ISO 20121, Event sustainability management systems – Requirements with guidance for use, which provides a framework for making an event sustainable at the social, economic and environmental levels. ISO 22379 was developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 292, Security and resilience, the secretariat of which is held by SIS, ISO’s member in Sweden.

ISO 22379:2022, Security and resilience – Guidelines for hosting and organising citywide or regional events, is available from ISO national member institutes. It may also be obtained directly from the ISO Central Secretariat,  respectively through the ISO store or by contacting the Marketing, Communication & Information department.