Last month, we hosted our first-ever Showstop® Procedure course at Safe Events Global HQ in Dublin and we’re pleased to say it was a great success.

The course brought together safety professionals from across the events industry for a full day of immersive learning, knowledge sharing, and discussion.

What the Course Covered

Steve Allen, Dr. Mark Hamilton, and Professor Chris Kemp developed the one-day course, which holds accreditation from both the IIRSM and the CPD Certification Service.

It provided tactical decision-makers with a clear and practical framework for managing critical incidents in live event environments.

Throughout the day, participants engaged in scenario-based learning and group exercises.

They also had the opportunity to sit a formal exam and qualify for the Professional Certificate in Showstop® Procedure. More on that below.

A Broad Mix of Experience Levels

One of the most valuable aspects of the course was the range of experience in the room. Attendees came from all corners of the events world – from interns starting their careers to directors overseeing major national and international events.

We welcomed safety specialists, production leads, operations professionals, and event managers, each bringing their own perspective. This diversity encouraged rich conversations and plenty of peer learning.

Everyone, regardless of role or seniority, shared the same goal – to strengthen their approach to Crowd Safety and build confidence in responding to critical incidents.

We were also joined by participants from some of Ireland’s most recognisable event venues and organisations, including Croke Park, The Convention Centre Dublin, RDS, and the St. Patrick’s Festival. Their insights helped ground the course content in real-world practice and added great depth to the discussions.

Why We Funded This Course

Operations Director, Martin Cullen, explained why Safe Events Global chose to fund this Showstop® Procedure course:

“We fully understand the importance of showstop procedures. We’ve been involved in them, both from Event Control and out on the ground, many times, on many events around the world.

People outside the safety function are becoming more and more interested in showstop procedures. Recently, Matt Williams, our Project Director, ran a webinar as part of our #EventInsights series on showstops and hundreds of people tuned in. We chose to capitalise on the current interest in the topic by organising this course.

While we’d already exhausted the ‘funded course’ training budget for 2025 – having run 2 funded courses already this year – we raided the piggy bank to make this one happen.”

The Professional Certificate

The course concluded with the opportunity to sit an exam for those eligible. Steve and his team reviewed CVs and experience in advance to ensure candidates met the criteria.

The exam has a high pass mark of 85%, and it’s far more than a box-ticking exercise. Only three participants opted not to take it.

We are happy to confirm that all candidates who took the exam were awarded the Professional Certificate in Showstop® Procedures.

Speaking after receiving the results for the group, Mark Breen, Strategic Director at Safe Events Global said:

“When we fund these courses for industry colleagues, the intention is that the benefit is felt far and wide in our industry. Part of our company mission is to help events in which we don’t have a direct involvement be safer. Funding courses like this is one way we further that mission. We are delighted everyone who sat the exam achieved the certification.”

Future Funding

We generally organise funded course in Q1 and maybe early Q2 of each year. This year saw a slight deviation from that, with the addition of this Showstop® Procedure course.

We plan to continue to fund courses to benefit our colleagues, competitors and industry peers.

Many have asked if we will specifically be funding this course again. We don’t know that yet.

You’ll need to keep an eye on what we announce for next year for funded courses and paid-for courses.

Best way to do that is make sure you’re connected with us on LinkedIn and that you keep an eye on our website.