Martyn’s Law and the Impact on Live Events in the UK.

The UK government has proposed new legislation aimed at improving public safety and security at live events and venues in the United Kingdom. The proposed legislation puts the onus on venue owners and event organisers to take necessary steps to protect the public from terrorist attacks and security risks. What does this mean for music festival organisers operating in the UK? 

This proposed legislation is designed to balance security with the open nature of public spaces used for live events whether they’re held at an established venue or on a field in a remote location. The scope of events includes concerts, sporting events and music festivals where large numbers of people gather. What is Martyn’s Law and what steps will music festival organisers need to take to comply with the requirements? 

What is Martyn’s Law? 
The proposed legislation is named after Martyn Hett who was one of the victims on the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack. The attack followed a concert by Ariana Grande when a bomb killed 22 people and injured another 1,017, it also destroyed the venue’s foyer and has been one of the deadliest acts of terrorism in the United Kingdom in recent years. 

Protect Duty. 
Martyn’s Law has been used by the UK government to create the UK Protect Duty proposed legislation and will establish a legal shared responsibility on venue operators, event organisers and local authorities to protect the public from terrorist threats. The scope of this legislation will apply to indoor venues like concert halls, arenas, theatres and nightclubs. In addition, it will apply to outdoor events like music festivals, sporting events and fairs. The legislation proposes a two-tiered approach, a standard tier for spaces with capacities from 100 to 799 people and an enhanced tier for larger venues with capacities in excess of 800 people. The government will provide support with advice and assessments to help compliance using Counter Terrorism Security Advisors (CTSAs). 

Proposed Requirements. 
Under the new legislation it will be a requirement for the production of risk assessments to identify security risks and vulnerabilities. Based on the assessment results an appropriate security plan must be implemented to mitigate identified risks. This must be done in conjunction with mandatory training to help staff recognise suspicious behaviour and how to handle emergency procedures. Typical security measures may include bag checks, access control systems and the construction of physical barriers for example. Venue operators and event organisers must develop incident response plans that include emergency and evacuation procedures plus communication strategies so that threats are managed effectively. 

Implementation and Timing. 
Although the Protect Duty legislation has been under development since 2021 its initial implementation began in 2024/2025 with various awareness campaigns. The full implementation is expected to be completed by 2027 which allows venue operators, event organisers and local authorities time to adapt to the new legislation. Enforcement will be conducted by local authorities and other regulatory bodies and there are expected to be fines or penalties for non-compliance although as yet no details have been published on what these may be. For music festival organisers this year is the perfect time to become familiar with the proposed legislation and its possible impact on the event planning process. It is particularly important not to procrastinate when considering the impact of Protect Duty legislation as festivals are often planned between 12 and 24 months before live dates. 

For festival organisers planning their next events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering. 

Image by Michael_Gorduz via Pixabay

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