Attending music festivals should be both fun and safe. In the town of Jelling in Denmark, a smart video system was installed with cameras at the entrances, stages, and across two campsites. The visual technology assists security and first-aid staff as extra eyes, enabling them to manage crowd control and fire prevention when 40,000 fans gathered to hear 100 bands during the 4-day event.
Challenges: crowds and fires to be controlled
The first music festival of the year in Denmark takes the lead chronologically and practically. JMF is in the spotlight to ensure a safe and efficient environment for 40,000 fans who stream into town for a long weekend of songs, partying and camping. A lot of equipment and staging has to be built and installed in a short time before the fun begins.
JMF has a strong focus on crowds at the entrances and moving around between the acts, food and drink stalls or campsites. In front of the stages are the ‘pits’ where people density is registered with video analytics as they keep an eye on the crowd dynamics.
First responders need instant communication and alerts on any incidences, for the staff to manage quickly. Campfires are forbidden, to avoid wildfires in dry weather, so the monitoring system is key for catching smoke and flames anywhere on site. The previous watchtowers built for staff to try and see over all the crowded areas were not efficient.
Solution: cameras and software tuned up
Sixty cameras were installed around the festival site. A central Command Truck was outfitted with the latest version of Milestone XProtect® video management software, to display streams from all the cameras, in a combined mode, by defined groups or in rotation.
The VMS manages the operators using the system, their access and shifts or camera locations. Roving staff can use XProtect® Mobile client with Video Push to stream video back to the central Command Truck, if no camera view is available. XProtect® Smart Client has Smart Map functions for overview of all locations, and video analytics from Milestone Technology Partner SAIMOS provide people counting to manage crowded areas, from entry queues, to mosh pits and campsites.
Results: safe and secure
Beyond providing security surveillance, the seamlessly integrated video software from Milestone and SAIMOS made the cameras even smarter. They can more accurately count how many people enter the grounds and gather around the stages - especially in the pits in front of the stages. Monitoring the crowd size and movements enables being proactive about any developments brewing there.
Preventive uses with new thermal cameras register both smoke and fire detection. They can alert to heated objects or areas where a person may have accidentally set something on fire, or did not know about the no-campfire rule. With the thermal cameras looking out, JMF has switched out the guards and are monitoring more reliably; the previous watchtower staff are now available to address activities on the ground.
Watch the video on event safety:
