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Client: Live Nation
MRL Lead:Julian Bentley
Date: 9th-11th June 2005

Key Features:

• Planning and Management
• Provision of an ELT/Event Control
  
• Emergency Response
• Crowd Management in Crisis

During one Download festival, which is held over a weekend,  Ossie Osborne was starting his stage performance to a maximum capacity crowd of 65,000 people, the Event Control Room (ELT) provided by MRL Limited received a report of a serious fire at the back of the arena.

ELT dispatched one of MRL Limited's Safety Managers to the scene, along with the site fire crew to make an initial assessment. When they arrived they found that a large amount of cardboard in a skip had caught fire and was producing lots of thick smoke which was potentially going to drift over the crowd. Also due to the close proximity to East Midlands airport, ELT had to keep air traffic control updated on the situation. An assessment had to be made whether the show should be halted due to the risk to the crowd, but working as a team the fire was contained whilst the audience was ‘busy’ watching the stage rather than moving about and potentially trying to walk through the smoke if an emergency evacuation had been called.

By the time Ozzie had finished his performance the fire had been put out and normality restored before the audience started to move back to the campsite area. As for Ozzie, he thought it was all part of the effect for the show!