A Coventry researcher has launched a study into the safety of live music events

A COVENTRY University researcher has launched a pioneering study into the safety of live music events.

The PhD researcher began the study trying to fill a significant gap in security and events research, aiming to make the industry a safer environment.

KT Sonnen has nearly two decades in the security sector and has a number of independent venues and festivals signed up to take part in the research, which he hopes will provide useful insights for the live music industry.

She said: “Research is exciting for me personally, but it’s also exciting for industry to have a combination of what we do operationally and the ability to provide academic support.

“We hope we can take some of the lessons learned from the results and translate them into actionable best practices to ensure attendees and workers feel as safe as possible during events.

“It will also provide a time-stamped benchmark of where the events industry as a whole stands and give future research something to build on.”

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Live music events contribute millions to the economy, KT found the industry is under-researched, particularly in security and terrorism studies.

KT studied at the university’s Trust, Peace and Social Relations Research Center and is a member of the UK Crowd Management Association (UKCMA) and the Global Crowd Management Alliance (GCMA) and was editor of the recently launched ‘Safer Crowds Safer Venues: Good Practice for Crowd Management in UK Performance and Licensed Spaces’.