Hosting an Event in Tobago: The Security Plan Promoters Forget

Most promoters think about the gate and the bar. The events people remember for the right reasons are planned well beyond them: before the night, behind the stage and long after the last song.

You have booked the artistes, confirmed the venue and the posters are out. Tickets are moving. In fete season, that is the moment most promoters start to think about security, and usually only about two things: who is on the gate and who is watching the cash.

Both matter. But the events that run smoothly, the ones patrons talk about for the music rather than the queue or the car park, are planned further ahead and wider than that. Here are the parts of the plan that are easiest to forget, and the ones that make the biggest difference on the night.

Start the plan weeks before, not days

In October, good security teams, stewards and equipment are booked early, because every weekend has more than one event. Work back from your date. Several weeks out, walk the site with your security provider and agree the layout: entrances, exits, the stage, the bar, the cash office and where the crowd will naturally gather. Agree a realistic capacity with the venue and plan around it. Confirm whatever approvals your event needs well in advance. A plan made calmly in advance is always better than one improvised at the gate.

One briefing, one team

On the night, your bar staff, stewards, ticket team, sound crew and security officers are all working the same event, but they often arrive with different information. Bring them together for a short briefing before the gates open. Walk through the layout, the timings, who is in charge of what and how decisions are made. Agree one way to communicate, whether radios or a single group chat, and one person who has the final word. When everyone knows the plan, small issues are handled quietly instead of spreading.

Use the briefing to settle the questions that otherwise get answered in a hurry: what happens if the bar runs low, who can authorise a guest list change, where the artistes arrive and leave, and what the team does if the weather turns. Ten minutes together before the gates open saves hours of confusion later, and it gives your security officers the context they need to use good judgement on your behalf.

Know who belongs where

Backstage, the artiste area, the bar store and the cash office should only be open to the people who need to be there. Decide in advance who is accredited for each area and make it visible: coloured wristbands for patrons and VIPs, and passes or lanyards for crew, vendors and artistes. Brief your officers on what each one looks like. It protects your talent and your takings, and it saves a great deal of awkward conversation at the backstage gate.

A place for people who need help

In any large crowd someone will feel unwell, need water, lose a friend or drop a phone. Plan a clearly signed welfare point, with first aid cover arranged in advance and water available. Make it the place where lost friends meet up and lost property is handed in, and tell your staff and the MC so they can point people to it. A calm, visible point of help keeps small problems small and shows your patrons that you have thought about them. It also takes pressure off the gate, because people looking for help are no longer wandering back to the entrance to ask.

Be a good neighbour

Your event will be a great night for your patrons and a long night for the people who live and work nearby. A short note or visit to neighbours a week before, with the date, the expected finish time and a number to call on the night, goes a long way. Think about where cars will park and how traffic will flow so driveways and side roads stay clear. The goodwill you build this year is what makes next year’s event easier to host.

The end of the night is part of the event

The last hour is when the plan is tested hardest. Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people all heading for the same exits, the same taxis and the same roads. Bring the lights up gradually, open every exit, and keep officers in place at the gates and the car park until the last patron has gone. Stagger the bar close so the crowd does not leave in a single surge. Make sure there is lighting along the routes out, and that your team knows where transport will pick up. A well managed dispersal is how patrons remember you.

You are the one who brings the night together, and you deserve to enjoy it too. Dominion Security Services has protected Tobago since 2003, providing venue and event security across the island with trained officers and our own K-9 Unit. We are approved by the Ministry of National Security as a Protective Service Agency, and we know how much a promoter is carrying in the weeks before an event. Talk to us early and we will help you build the plan from the site walk to the last car out.

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Request a free security assessment

We will visit your site, look at the premises and advise honestly on the cover it needs, with no obligation. Prefer to talk? Call (868) 639-7649 or WhatsApp 868 264 9099.

Related: Security officers · K-9 Unit