Miss Nicole Jensen

BERLIN — Crowds of people streaming into a techno music festival surged through an already jammed entry tunnel on Saturday, setting off a panic that killed 19 people and injured 342 at an event meant to celebrate love and peace.

SBS World News Australia claims the reason behind the Love Parade disaster is police closing the parade grounds due to overcrowding, and instructing punters in the tunnel to turn around.

Authorities also suggested that some of the people killed or injured might have attempted to flee the crowd by jumping over a barrier and falling several metres. Witnesses described a desperate scene, as people piled up on each other or scrambled over others who had fallen in the crush.

So why? How could this happen? That tunnel was the sole entrance to the grounds. The Love Parade is one that hosts 1.4 million people and the venue could only hold 500,000. There’s yer problem!

This was my first thought. If an event is a repeat or regular one, you would believe adequate health and safety measures and procedures to be in place. With 1.4 million people reportedly through the gates and a claim of being the largest techno music festival in the world, the Love Parade should have had access points to the grounds to reflect this.

My second thought went to overcrowding (hence police refusing entry to over 300 people in the tunnel) and control of this. Why didn’t they have this covered? An eye-witness account reports (translated by Google from German to English):

Although many security controls were in place that would monitor compliance with the “Love Rules”, but the way to the controls was extremely narrow, began pushing the first and it lasted for only a few metres close to 90 minutes.

On the right side even more dramatic scenes. There was a small emergency stairs, each of which could escape from one person upwards. Here, too, now appeared more and more police officers… In those seeking help were people who had already lost consciousness. It was a bad experience of having to watch the rescue operation with, for now all we feared that we might be the next crushed.

Next to me I suddenly saw a policeman with a young man forced his way to the stairs. “Can’t you go or should I pay them?” Actually, the man gave me an even better shape right impression, then I saw his hand he held up convulsively. I had not looked closely, but his fingertips were covered with blood. Maybe he was overthrown in the crowd and accidentally had a lot of shoes shredded his hand.

They also mention that last year’s Love Parade closed due to overcrowding. Why, then, hasn’t something been done about it? If it is known that the venue is maxed out at 500,000, why are 1.4 million people permitted to attend, even when they expected 800,000?

The founder of the Love Parade, Matthias Roeingh, known as Dr. Motte, blasted the planning for the event, saying “one single entrance through a tunnel lends itself to disaster. I am very sad.”

Me too, Dr. Motte. And it sounds like current management isn’t too keen to run again after this catastrophe.

(Sources: msnbc.com, SBS World News Australia, @BreakingNews, images here on Flickr,  BBC News)

Wikipedia: On March 13, 1919, someone stating that they were the ‘Axeman of New Orleans’ sent a letter to a newspaper threatening to kill again at 15 past midnight on March 19. He said, however, that he would not kill anyone who went to a jazz show. On the night of March 18/19, all of the jazz clubs were filled to capacity, and professional and amateur jazz bands played in houses and parties all over the city. No one was killed that night.

In the words of my dear friend who shared this with me, f*** Facebook events, this guy was an event management genius.

(Think outside the square.)

On Friday I spent my day volunteering for Fireball 2009 with New Fangled Functions at City Hall. It was a pretty good day, setting 400 places for attendees of the charity ball raising funds for adult burns research and development. I did take a photo of the gorgeous table settings before I left, but it didn’t save to my iPhone, alas.

I was unable to make the event itself, but from what I’ve heard it was a great success. Well done, Kellie, Michael and the team at New Fangled Functions. (And happy birthday, Michael!)

Patron concerns regarding safety and security have been labeled “inaccurate” and “irrelevant” by Brisbane live music venue The Hi-Fi.

Retweeted at least five times was the link which exposed the relatively new venue in Brisbane as one which does not take seriously the views of its patrons, let alone one which responds to such matters in a responsible and attentive manner.

Long-time live music scene patron Kathleen was so appalled by standards of health and safety at The Hi-Fi that she took to writing to them. She commented on unnecessary queues in cold weather, broken glass, ill-placed bathrooms in the venue, poor band management and more importantly, extremely poor security.

I saw people waiting outside in a queue for 20 minutes and they had tickets. The queue wasn’t even that long, they were just being made to wait. The first band were already playing. The door staff would let people in in a trickle, or not let people in at all.

It’s winter. Queing for a show already paid for which is already starting… not a great start to the night, no.

I queued and got inside and headed for the toilets, which were to my dismay, up a flight of stairs down a deserted corridor. I don’t mind that the toilets are up a flight of stairs, but they are well away from the main room and I believe this puts your patrons at risk of assault or rape. I think you urgently need to address this by having security patrol upstairs regularly.

Issues are getting serious now; when your patrons believe that they are not safe in your venue, you are doing something wrong. Very wrong.

I was shocked that you were serving drinks in glass, especially with the recent “spate” of glassings. I was standing in the middle of the steps on the dancefloor for both sets and by the time the Dreamkillers had finished playing, there was broken glass all over the floor. The broken glass on the floor only increased while The Fireballs played. I saw punters deliberately throwing glasses on to the floor and into the crowd. I was truly horrified.

I saw the crowd break up fights and scuffles but security never intervened. Security was also nowhere to be found when punters were smashing and throwing glass. Security were nowhere to be found when a young man had a fit on the dance floor, I saw his mates carry him out. I noted one security guard on the barrier but he stayed in the one spot the entire time and didn’t move or interact with the crowd.

Like I said before; very, very wrong. And my favourite summary sentence from Kathleen:

I have never been to a venue with such weak and obviously incompetent and overwhelmed security.

This was the abysmal reply which Kathleen received from Scott Ahpee, a month later and after a second e-mail:

As the General Manager of Operations, I read through your email immediately on receipt, and clarified all matters with our venue staff.  Replying to your email was (until today) on my ‘to-do’ list, but a detailed response on every matter would require time I’ve yet to have spare.  However, since you clearly require a response immediately, I write this now.  On discussion with venue staff, management, security and production crew, as well as discussions with the tour manager of the Fireballs, I found most of your complaints to be inaccurate, and others to be irrelevant.  If you do not wish to return to the Hi-Fi, that is your choice.

Time yet to spare? Perhaps Mr Ahpee should be allocating time to deal with public complaints about his venue before a significant amount of patronage is lost? Your venue has been complained about in the retrospect of health and safety concerns, which I deem to be quite damn important. There are reports of glassings and injury as a result of lack of security and you claim them to be “inacurate”? Also, if he had so little time to write an e-mail, I question if Mr Ahpee even had such discussions with the above mentioned parties. Might want to check that ‘to-do’ list again.

Meanwhile, the Hi-Fi bar is looking to utilise my favourite social media network, Twitter. How on earth will they be able to manage a constant stream of customer comments of 140 characters if they take a month or so to reply [even if indecently] to a formal complaint?

We’ve all done them. You’re hosting a little shindig at home when you’ve realised you don’t have Fred’s new phone number and that you’ll probably just get Julie’s answering machine for the next few days again. What do you do? Facebook it.

Sure the effort of doing so isn’t a lot, but how effective are they in actually gaining a successful guest list? In my experience, you could always assume the social network addicts would sign up first, if not immediately, then slowly the numbers creep up until you’ve got the record player set to Hottest 100 Party Tracks as guests shyly arrive.

Well, anyway, I asked fellow Twitter addicts how they use Facebook events. Next week, I might ask the neighbours, but they’ll just look at me strangely and offer a cup of sugar instead.

“I think they are fantastic, except not everyone is on FB. Good marketing ploy of theirs though” – @kirstywrites

Attendance

Clearly diminishes 20% on average. Due to lack of interaction with the host? Possibly. As Facebook ages, less people are taking their RSVPs on the website seriously.

Personal Touch

The main argument many people I speak to have against Facebook is the lack of face-to-face communication. No Twitter respondants actually mentioned this!

Time frame

Clearly you’re unable to post a Facebook event for the same day. A week might suffice depending on the size and nature of your event, also on how active your guests are on the social network which can be quite a lot of assuming. Four weeks or even more for a major celebration or fundraiser is ideal if you have this time frame available.

Then there is the “Maybe” RSVP option. Dreaded by event hosts, loved by attendees:

“I can reply ‘maybe’ to events & they still show up in my timeline, so I can decide to go closer to the time.” – @scarlettjen

Diary Management

@ccake, like @iusebiro and @brentoe, syncs FB events with other calculators and also chooses to have e-mail notifications turned on for when the invitations come in, much like @kissability does.

“I do use Facebook events and I have email notifications turned on for invitations. I find it very useful in my busy schedule!” – @kissability

“Handy for knowing about harder to find things (house show parties, gallery openings) new facebook keeps it more hidden though.” – @vivzilla

“[I] check my requests (incl event invites) daily, a bit spammy but still quite useful.” – @djackmanson

“Events is my primary use of Facebook- I use it constantly as my social calendar. Find it incredibly useful.” – @glittertrash

“I use it all the time, both as an attendee and organiser. Very handy.” – @sleepydumpling

“I rely heavily on my Facebook events. I’m very forgetful, so having them display in ‘coming up’ on my homepage really helps.” - @hellyeahkate

Authenticity

Having only a Facebook event for an invitation, do people trust these or seek verbal confirmation of the event? @brentoe doesn’t seem to think so, but @erikveland has other ideas:

“I rely on it to track my events. Unfortunately event spam has made them useless as a source to send out REAL invitations…Because of event spam, most people will just ignore invitations altogether unless you specifically bring attention to them.” – @erikveland

“I use them and so do nearly all of my friends. Event isn’t “official” until it’s on FB” – @brentoe

Suggestions for Facebook

Option to lose the ‘Maybe’ RSVP. That would be my main suggestion. What do you think?

“The “no chance” ones can be annoying. It’s OK to be invited once, but multiple times?! We need ”never invite me” op” - @divabat

“If FB used microformats for events it would be a great improvement. Otherwise I rarely check events” – @zuzu

In closing…

I’m having a house party next weekend, which I’m very excited about, and the Facebook event went up a week or so ago. Let’s see how many make it, but in the meantime, what are your views on Facebook events usage?

A few days ago the 2009 dates for the music festival tour Parklife were released by Sydney events company Fuzzy. Hurrah! 

So the dates for this winning festival are:

• Saturday 26th September – Brisbane
• Sunday 27th September – Perth
• Saturday 3rd October – Melbourne
• Sunday 4th October – Sydney
• Monday 5th October – Adelaide

You can find more info on each on and their retrospective Facebook event pages (of course) here. As far as the acts are concerned; there has been some comment around the place that Canadian electro duo MSTRKRFT and the UK’s Lady Sovereign will be touring. I’ll report back with an official list when it arises.

Also, if you’re a Sydney student looking to get some hours up on your degree, why not apply for a Parklife Internship? There are roles available in event management, PR, marketing, touring, HR and production. I would apply immediately, but I’m neither in Sydney or a student. Shame! You’d best hurry along though; applications are due this coming Monday, 25th of May.

A mate’s 21st birthday party is coming up late June and she’s a tad frazzled over how to go about finding a venue amongst the diamonds of possibilities in Brisbane. So I made this list!

1. Determine your budget. Are your parents paying? Awesome! Now pay attention to this fact and ensure they’re part of the decision-making process.
2. List possible venues. It’s all about your favourite places to be and favourite people to be around, so think about the crowd you’re inviting and the suitability of the venue. I had my 21st last July at The Plough Inn, Southbank because I was inviting college friends, new friends, old friends and family members. The relaxed atmosphere was great for comfortable discussions and the service was superb. I loved it! Other cute 21sts I’ve attended have been at house parties, alleyway cocktail bars and more. Sure, be imaginative; but match your guests, not vice versa.
3. E-mail for quotes. Take note of how quickly they can return the details. Don’t feel compelled to do business with someone you do not like, but this depends on how much you’d love to party at their establishment.
4. Shortlist. Try to get it down to about three, but this depends on how much time you have on your hands to look around.
5. Venue test run. Go for a drink, meal, dance or whatever activity you’re planning for your big gig. The aim here is to get a feel for the atmosphere. You wouldn’t buy a pair of shoes without trying them on now, would you?
6. Formal visit. Chat to the functions manager about what you require, who will attend, any special needs you have. Be specific and they’ll be able to offer you better service.
7. Negotiate. Do feel free to state that another venue is willing to do XYZ for a better price. If they want your business, they will do their best to accommodate. And don’t forget to check with the parents.
8. Confirm! In writing of course. Pay all deposits, etc as soon as possible too.

So that’s the planning done of seeking a neat party venue. One last thing is to thank them after your 21st for their hospitality and perhaps even leave them a testimonial which they can use later on. But I know you’ll all do that because you’re a smashing party host!

Happy hunting!

Just a quick one:

• I suggest sitting to the back of the room if you are using a notebook computer. This means others will not be distracted by what’s happening on your screen.
• Like everyone else, make sure your laptop bag or case is not blocking any pathways. Feel free to use the seat next to you to spread out, but pay attention if it looks like someone needs that seat.
• Type quietly and only when necessary. Others may not be able to hear the presenters if they are sitting nearby you.
• If you cannot say something nice, don’t say it at all. No one on the Internet really cares if the presenter needs to stop for a glass of water, puts up the wrong slideshow or trips over a cord. You’re covering content, not the tiny incidentals of a presentation.
• Regarding the event itself, offter only constructive criticism, and take preference to in-person, rather than blogged if it can be helped. Feedback should always be welcomed by organisers and so if the food is cold, let them know now, rather than tomorrow on your website.
• No solitaire or WoW! If you don’t want to listen to the presenter then get out of the theatre and go home. Seriously.

Do you have any pointers for event bloggers?