AUSTIN -- Organizers with South by Southwest are taking proactive measures this week to do a better job with crowd control for next year’s event.
SXSW has hired Professor Keith Still, a mathematician, psychologist and crowd control specialist who handled security for the last two Summer Olympics and the Royal Wedding.
“It's anticipating ahead rather than looking at any current problems that exist," said Still. "How do we improve process procedures? How do we move things forward?”
Still led a workshop attended by close to 50 participants Tuesday evening at the Convention Center. It was the second day of a three-day workshop attended by SXSW employees, Austin police, and a number of downtown stakeholders.
In mid-March during the SXSW free concert series, a number of people were hurt after organizers closed the gates because too many people were already inside to see the band the Strokes. An estimated four to 5,000 fans who were locked out pressed against the fence until it gave way, injuring people in the process.
“There were a number of things that went all wrong at once,” said Roland Swenson with SXSW. “You can have the same problem with 300 that you do with a crowd of three million."
What SXSW organizers are trying to learn this week is how to better avoid a problem long before it happens.
“We want people in Austin to know that we're taking these problems very seriously, and we're taking very concrete steps to get ahead of this problem before it gets any worse," added Swenson.
SXSW says a few changes for next spring’s event could include allowing people in earlier, better signage and getting information to attendees out earlier.
