Project LIVE conference 2022
This dissemination event brought together stakeholders across professional sport and academic research to discuss the findings of Project LIVE: Limiting virus transmission during a sporting mega-event. Attendees heard from a variety of stakeholders including those directly involved in the research project but also from governing bodies of sport, sports safety specialists and government researchers on how the findings of Project LIVE support other pieces of research on event safety management and ongoing efforts to reduce risk at sports events.
Dr Jordan Maclean
Institute of Social Marketing and Health, University of Stirling
Ross Aitken, Cian Twomey and Luis Mendia
World Rugby
Dr Jordan Maclean from the Institute of Social Marketing and Health at the University of Stirling presents the findings of a paper associated with Project LIVE, entitled: “We wouldn’t have missed it for the world”: Stakeholders perspectives of hosting EURO 2020 in pandemic times.
Colleagues at World Rugby discuss how their various men’s, women’s and sevens tournaments have been impacted by the pandemic and how they have tried to reduce viral transmission through various mitigation strategies.
Dr Richard Purves
Institute of Social Marketing and Health, University of Stirling
Matt Willis and Thomas Concannon
Fieldworkers at Wembley and Hampden Park
Dr Richard Purves provided delegates with an overview of Project LIVE and its objectives. A breakdown of the three work packages (WPs) and associated data was also delivered to attendees including lessons that can be taken forward in delivering sports mega events in the future.
Matt and Thomas provided further insights into the matchday experiences at UEFA EURO 2020 at both Wembley, London and Hampden Park, Glasgow. They detailed their experiences at security perimeters, turnstiles, concessions and seated areas as well as observations in terms of staff performance and response to non-compliance with COVID-19 regulations.
Phil Davies
Head of Safety and Security, and COVID Officer, English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)
Ken Scott
Head of Inspectorate, Sports Ground Safety Authority
Phil Davies provided a recap of how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted cricket in the UK before discussing the ECB’s interactions with their Chief Medical Officer and DCMS in terms of developing a biosecure model to deliver international cricket.
Ken Scott detailed the role of the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) in terms of event safety management pre- and post-COVID-19. He discussed the tools and guidance SGSA has developed to support local, regional, national and international sports organisations to ensure the safety of all people present at any sports event.
Dr Jenifer Smith
Mass Events, a COVID pandemic and Public Health, UK Health Security Agency
Christopher Schneiders
Spectator Experience Coordinator, The FA
Dr Jenifer Smith from the UKHSA provided and overview of the UK government’s Events Research Programme that was designed to monitor transmission COVID-19 at different events and venues across multiple sports to help inform how to manage spectator movement prior to, during and after events.
Slide data originally published in: Smith, Jenifer AE, et al. “Public health impact of mass sporting and cultural events in a rising COVID-19 prevalence in England.” Epidemiology & Infection 150 (2022).
Christopher Schneiders from the Football Association discussed some of the operational challenges at UEFA EURO 2020 and how national policies impacted the delivery of the tournament in terms of decreased stadium capacities, timeslots for spectator entry, mask wearing and testing or proof of vaccination.
About Us
Find out more about Healthy Stadia and the Healthy Stadia concept
Stadia Guidance
Support for stadia to introduce health-promoting policies
Community
Find out more about our range of community health programmes
Campaigns
Learn more about how we advocate for change through sport
Research Projects
Discover how we support researchers and deliver projects
UEFA
Find out how we support Europe’s governing body of football