SAFE STADIUM final conference

On 21st of May 2024, an international conference summarizing the project, was held at the Municipal Stadium in Lodz.

As indicated before, the protection of public spaces, such as stadiums or sports venues, which can hold gatherings of tens of thousands of people at a time, is vitally important and impactful for the general safety of the citizens and local communities. Currently those types of objects are well prepared for so called “traditional” threats, however it is imperative that more effort is applied to raising knowledge, awareness and abilities in the area of counteracting and reacting to risks and threats of CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) nature. SAFE STADIUM project was designed to fill in those gaps, through developed of sets procedures and recommendations with regards to CBRN safety adjusted for the specific needs and of sports facilities.

The conference not only served the purpose of presenting the findings of the project but also allowed to hold a debate about safety in sport’s halls. Conference has been inaugurated by:

Dariusz Joński – Polish MP
Adam Wieczorek – Vice Mayor of Lodz
Piotr Szor – Technical Director of City Arena of Sport and Culture
Prof. Andrzej Kruk – Dean of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection

During the first part of the conference representants of European Commission, United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism and INTERPOL presented programmes and achievements of their institutions in the area of ensuring the security of public places. Subsequentially, representatives of consortium presented the results of the project featuring a demonstration of equipment of Regional Police Headquarters in Lodz and Biohazard Prevention Centre of University of Lodz, use of which was recommended in case of CBRN emergency. The conference was completed by a panel discussion moderated by Real Madrid representative and featuring guests of sports clubs and managers of sports halls: MŠK Žilina, Premiere League, Sport Lisboa e Benfica, PGE National Stadium as well as City Arena of Sport and Culture.

Invitation for the Final Conference

University of Lodz as a Coordinator on behalf of the Safe Stadium Project Consortium is pleased to invite Project Stadia member(s) to participate in The International Conference summarizing the project co-financed by the European Union “Integrated large sport facilities protection system supporting the CBRN security of mass events” SAFE STADIUM
The conference will be held on 21 May 2024 at Municipal Stadium in Lodz, Unii Lubelskiej 2 Street, 94-020 Lodz, Poland.
The conference will include a presentation of the results of the project, panel discussions accompanied by practical elements on the prevention and response to CBRN terrorist threats at sport facilities, assessment of the level of security of the sport facilities, simple ways to recognize the symptoms of the application of CBRN agents, procedures for responding to an incident including evacuation methods.
Ongoing cooperation and presence of Stadia Project members will fit into holistic approach of the conference to the safety of the sport facilities.
The conference is free of charge. The working language of the conference is English with translation into Polish.
Please confirm your participationby emailing:..weronika.grabowska@biol.uni.lodz.pl till 15.05.2024.

Yours sincerely, Safe Stadium
Final Conference Organizing Committee

Safe Stadium promotion in Italy

Safe Stadium project has been successfully promoted in Italy. The event on April 10th held significant weight as stakeholders convened in the Giacomo Matteotti room within the lower chamber of the Italian Parliament. This gathering,  drew approximately 50 individuals representing diverse sectors, including governmental bodies, law enforcement agencies, healthcare institutions, sports associations, and more.

The proceedings commenced with opening remarks from Prof. Giovanni Scambia and Dr. Luca Pierantoni. Prof. Scambia, Head of the Research area at Policlinico Gemelli, emphasized the role of hospitals in responding to CBRN incidents, underlining the crucial link between research endeavours and public health resilience. Pierantoni, Head of the Political Affairs Team of the EC Representation in Italy, provided poignant reminders of past stadium tragedies, stressing the necessity of funding for research, innovation, and the implementation of robust safety protocols.
The event featured three comprehensive presentations:
Prof. Daniele Gui offered insights into the SAFE STADIUM project’s objectives and its significance in enhancing safety measures for stadiums and arenas.
Dr. Bruno Romanò delved into the intricacies of the project’s framework, outlining a document developed by Policlinico Gemelli focusing on CBRN-Med (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear – Medical).
Ms. Rachele Brancaleoni showcased the educational tools devised under the project’s purview, including an immersive VR simulation aimed at bolstering preparedness and response capabilities.
The latter part of the event comprised a dynamic round table discussion moderated by Dr. Pierluigi Spada, a surgeon and well-known science communicator. Panelists included:
Ferruccio Taroni, President of ANDES (National Association of Stewards), who provided insights into stewardship’s role in ensuring safety and security within stadiums.
Chiara Appendino, Vice President of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation and member of the Italian Parliament, shared perspectives on the governance of sports and legislative considerations.
Andrea Santini, Manager of Stadio Olimpico and Parco del Foro Italico, highlighted the pivotal role of sports venues in promoting community health and well-being.
Riccardo Fambrini, Head of the NBC School of Rieti, offered expertise on NBC defense strategies and preparedness measures.
Alessandro Gullo, Delegated by the Questore and responsible for the Rome – Prati Police Station, provided insights into law enforcement’s role in ensuring public safety and security during sporting events.
Through robust discourse and interdisciplinary collaboration, the SAFE STADIUM mainstreaming event fostered collective action towards fortifying public spaces against CBRN threats, underscoring a proactive approach to risk mitigation and resilience-building initiatives. The recordings of the event (in Italian) are available at this link: evento | WebTV (camera.it)

Anti-terrorists at the City Stadium in Lodz!

On the 6-7 March a Large Scale Exercise (LSE) have been organized by Safe Stadium consortium. The large-scale exercise was held at the Lodz City Stadium. It was a joint effort of the whole partnership with the leading role of Biohazard Prevention Center (UniLodz), City Arena of Culture and Sport (Makis), The Regional Police Headquarters in Lodz (KWPL) and International Security and Emergency Management Institute (ISEMI) .

The Safe Stadium project is entering its final phase, and this exercise was one of the final stages. The exercise was aimed at testing the procedures and recommendations developed as part of the project, which are mainly intended for sports event organizers, facility administrators and law enforcement.

The event started in on 6ht of March with training for stewards and security managers. The training covered:

  • Introduction to CBRN and crucial CBRN procedures (e.g.: recognition, response, evacuation) – presented procedures were evaluated during the LSE,
  • Table top exercise, which analyzed response to threats tested during LSE,
  • Virtual Reality session, which tested VR solution developed within the project.

The second day was the Large Scale Exercise. The event covered: terrorist attack on the spectator with unknown chemical substance. This attack was followed by an evacuation of spectator and decontamination of those who were affected. Simultaneously the terrorist, who was trying to run away, was stopped by Police, following an exchange of fire. The LSE allowed the project to test various recommendation and procedures developed within Safe Stadium. In the event almost 400 people were involved: around 300 Police and UniLodz students acting as spectators, 25 stewards, 160 Police Officers form various units and 20 fire fighters. Specially for this exercise, the FK Gerlachov football club came to Lodz from Slovakia to play a match against the LKS III Lodz team.

,,Biological threats are the most difficult to counter, because clear procedures are the most difficult to develop in this case. The procedures must be complex and diverse.”
– Head of the Biohazard Prevention Center at the University of Lodz – Michal Bijak

Thank you and see you on next exercises!

 

SAFE STATIUM representatives participated in the Final Conference of the APPRAISE H2020 counter-terrorism project

At the end of February Rafał Batkowski, Ph.D (Expert on counter-terrorism in CEPOL – EU Agency for law enforcement training) participated as one of the experts cooperating with The Biohazard Prevention Centre in the Final Conference of the APPRAISE H2020 counter-terrorism project. APPRAISE H2020 EU Project targets the protection of public places and unprotected public facilities #softtargets by strengthening cooperation between the state and private security sectors.

Rafal Batkowski, Ph.D represented Biohazard Prevention Center, UŁ and the projects we coordinate: SAFE STADIUM, PRoSPeReS, Mall-CBRN and the partner SHRINEs Project. The conferences like this are an excellent forum to share knowledge, experience and recommendations.
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We are grateful to work with such experienced experts!

Internal training

On January 17, 2024, police officers from Lodz Voivodeship Police and the City Headquarters in Lodz as well as security experts from Lech Poznań, Seris Konsalnet and City Arena of Culture and Sport in Lodz attended a Siena X training. Siena X is an exercise tool developed by International Security and Emergency Management Institute that allows to test simultaneous online communication of many entities, implementation of solutions to solve crisis situation and assessment of the actions undertaken by a group of experts. After the training, there was an discussion related to various threats that training participants experienced in real life during matches they organized/secured. Additionally, solutions (procedures) prepared as part of the project have been discussed. The workshops are one of the last preparatory stages of the project, before large-scale exercises planned for March 2024 in Lodz, which are a part of a validation process of a Safe Stadium deliverables.

 

The training was organized by International Security and Emergency Management Institute and Lodz Voivodeship Police.

Safe Stadium at Security Research Event

Safe Stadium project has been invited to Security Research Event (SRE) organized by the European Commission with the support of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU in Brussels on 24 and 25 October 2023.
This event is an annual initiative focused on connecting industry, policy makers and knowledge institutions working in the area in security.  This year over 50 European project/initiatives have been presented. The event was accompanied by panelist discussion focusing on future of security research, cascading effects of crises, disaster preparedness and resilience or society digitalization and threats and opportunities that are associated with this phenomenon. Michał Bijak, Safe Stadium project coordinator, was invited to a panel focusing on cascading effects of crises.

Safe Stadium at Council of Europe

On 18th October Safe Stadium project have been presented at Committee on Safety and Security at Sports Events (T-S4) at the Council of Europe Convention on an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and other Sports Events.

The meeting aim was to discuss between representatives of convention signatory countries how to increase safety and security of sport events as well as how to combat hate speech in sport and promote gender equality in sport.

The project Safe Stadium presented outcomes of the research phase which showcase that stadium are quite well prepared to traditional threats, however CBRN component is missing both in awareness and preparedness. Further project solution have been presented.

During the meeting T-S4 Committee and Safe Stadium project members jointly agreed to work together on annex to The Convention focusing on CBRN threats.

Pilot training at MŠK Žilina

International Security and Emergency Management Institute (ISEMI) and MSK Zilina in cooperation with MAKIS and University of Lodz carried out training for stewards of MSK Zilina on Saturday on 21st of October 2023 at the MSK Zilina football stadium. This training event was organized as part of WP 8 Training and piloting of the CBRN protection system with the main aim to enhance stewards capabilities also in area of CBRN and their first response to CBRN incidents based on the procedures and training materials prepared in WP4 and WP6. Next training and exercise will be organized in March 2023 in Lodz. Later we prepare more detail evaluation of training based on Feedback forms.

 

Fire Service exercises at Lech Poznań

On Friday 29.09.2023 Poznań City Headquarters of the Fire Service conducted at Lech Poznań Stadium exercises focusing on CBRNE threats.

The first part of the event focused  on theoretical aspects: types and summary of CBRN incidents, real-case scenarios, critical infrastructure safety and protection as well as management of (CBRN) threats at mass events. During the morning session also Safe Stadium, NEST and HoloZcan projects were presented by University of Lodz.
The second part of the event focused on exercises consisting of three scenarios:
  • – spraying chemical agents form a drone on fans of one of the stadium sectors,
  • – hanging of unidentified and suspicious object of the stadium roof structure,
  • – planting a suspicious object under the seats at one of the sectors.