In wake of blast at Ariana Grande concert, venue safety comes into question
Deadly blasts outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, have renewed concerns about venue safety for entertainers and audiences alike.
At least 22 people died and scores were injured Monday night after one or more explosions tore through the crowd outside Grande's concert at Manchester Arena in the U.K.
The blast occurred just before 10:35 p.m. local time as the concert was wrapping up, according to Manchester police. The explosion, which apparently took place in the arena's main corridor, sent panicked fans running for the exits.
The blasts, which are being treated as a terrorist incident, have caused many parents to question: Just how safe are concert venues?
Late Monday, the Department of Homeland Security said there is no evidence of credible threats against music venues in the USA. The department says the U.S. public may experience increased security in and around public places and events.
Here's a look back at what security experts have said through the years.
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June 2016
The Grande explosion brought back memories of two stateside attacks last year: In June 2016, an armed assailant opened fire in gay nightclub Pulse Orlando, killing 50 people and wounding 53 in the deadliest shooting spree in U.S. history. Two days prior, former The Voice contestant Christina Grimmie was shot and killed in a meet-and-greet following a show at Orlando's Plaza Live Theater.
At the time, experts said both the Pulse and Grimmie incidents indicated holes in security. "What both of these incidents illustrate is that no event is too small and that there are vulnerabilities, regardless of whether these (attacks) are terrorism, hate crimes or someone who is mentally disturbed," said Russ Simons, managing partner at facility management firm Venue Solutions Group. "It's a completely new day in terms of how we have to look at these things."
May 2016
Last May, one person was killed and three were wounded before a T.I. concert at New York's Irving Plaza. Unlike most sports arenas and stadiums, where metal detectors are mandatory, many smaller venues aren't equipped to invest in the screening devices, which typically start at $4,000 to $5,000.
"It's expensive and may be cost-prohibitive for some venues, but the cost of not having (them) is obvious," said Ed McPherson, a Los Angeles entertainment attorney and crisis manager. Concert venues range in capacity from "20 people to 20,000 people, so you can't expect (the smallest) bars to have them. So the question is, at what point do you put them in?"
Club security measures can vary widely depending on the venue and budget, said John White, president of Protection Management LLC in Canton, Ohio. "It depends on the geographical area the venue is in. Is it in a high-crime or high-risk area? These are all things you want to look at to determine what the risk is."
November 2015
ISIS-affiliated terrorists attacked the Bataclan, killing 89 people and injuring 368. California-based band Eagles of Death Metal had been playing for about an hour when the shooting started. Four gunmen entered the front of the 1,500-seat theater, and dozens of fans struggled to flee out the back alleyway as shots were being fired.
It was one of several coordinated attacks that started in the northern outskirts of Paris, near the national sports stadium, the Stade de France, where three suicide bombers blew themselves up during a soccer match. Shortly after that, another team of assailants went on the rampage, targeting Parisian cafes and restaurants.
Following the attack, French stores, movie theaters, stadiums and museums tightened security by hiring guards, checking bags and using metal detectors.
In the U.S., when it comes to security training and background checks, "each state is different, and the laws in each state, depending on the actual duties that someone like that might have, are different," Simons told USA TODAY in 2016. "I would think it's likely that we'll see some additional legislation." In New York, for example, armed guards are required to undergo a 47-hour firearms training program to obtain a pistol license, while in Florida, only 28 hours are required.
August 2014
Drug overdoses rocked the festival circuit in 2014. Two people died at Mad Decent Block Party, an EDM event, in Columbia, Md., joining 15 other fatalities at music festivals that summer — up from seven drug-related fest deaths in 2013, according to Billboard.
And despite a promoter's best efforts to control what goes on inside a venue — whether that means upping security staff, employing drug-sniffing dogs or capping alcohol purchases — it's impossible to prevent all dangerous behavior, although it can be minimized, Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, which covers the concert industry, told USA TODAY at the time.
"How is a promoter supposed to stop a drug overdose at an EDM event? Even strip and full-body cavity searches couldn't stop someone from ingesting drugs just before they come in," Bongiovanni said. "The negligence would be if the promoter didn't provide adequate emergency medical on site."
In general, White told USA TODAY in 2016, it's unlikely that smaller venues will invest in metal detectors after these incidents.
"It's like the movie theater in Colorado," he says, referencing the 2012 shooting that left 12 dead after a midnight showing of a Batman film. "(Cinemark) just won a civil suit about not having had metal detectors. Random acts are tough to predict. But as this gets more news coverage, I think the management of a good percentage of facilities will start looking at their security and ask, 'Could it happen here?' "
Contributing: The Associated Press
