Reflections on changing public behaviour after this year’s Ryder Cup.

If you caught The Guardian the other week, you might have seen Rory Carroll’s article, “Swearing, booing and spitting: is crowd behaviour out of control?”

The piece delved into the recent controversy at the Ryder Cup. It explored whether audiences today are genuinely becoming more unruly, and crowd management is becoming more difficult, or if we’re just more aware of it thanks to social media and headlines.

Numerous articles and headlines criticised how chaotic the crowds were at this year’s golf tournament. What started as light-hearted heckling escalated into abusive insults, homophobic slurs and even a beer cup thrown at Rory Mcilroy’s wife.

The reaction was one of widespread shock, but also a question: have the norms of crowd behaviour changed?

Expert opinions

Experts weighed in with different perspectives on the observed crowd behaviour at the Ryder Cup this year.

Dr Kirsty Sedgman from the University of Bristol noted that public spaces seem to be seeing a rise in belligerence, not just at sports events but across everyday life.

Interestingly, she pointed out that when people are challenged about poor behaviour, they’re now less likely to back down and more likely to turn on those calling them out.

A recent survey from the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU) backed her statement up, stating that more than a third of people working in live events in the UK had faced antisocial behaviour or aggression from audiences in the past year, and for front-of-house staff, that number jumped to 77%.

The positive side

Other experts in the article, including Professor Stephen Reicher of the University of St Andrews and Anne Marie Chebib from the UK Crowd Management Association (UKCMA), were a little less pessimistic.

They reminded us that while the headlines highlight the worst cases, the majority of events still run safely and respectfully. The crowd behaviour noted at the Ryder Cup was observed in a minority of those attending.

Reicher even noted that, statistically, football crowds tend to be less violent than similar-sized gatherings elsewhere, but it’s just that trouble always makes the news.

Psychologist, Professor John Drury from the University of Sussex weighed in to suggest that audience behaviour may have genuinely shifted since the pandemic. Lockdowns disrupted how younger people learned social norms, and as a result, some may not recognise when their behaviour crosses the line.

How do we solve this?

Our own Strategic Director, Mark Breen, was also featured in the article.

He explained how early, visible action can help set the tone at live events: “It’s about knocking bad norms on the head early, or establishing good ones.”

In other words, crowd management is as much about shaping crowd culture as it is about enforcing rules.

The article finishes on a thoughtful note, that while most crowds remain passionate and positive, organisers need to work harder than ever to maintain those standards.

Whether it’s in sport, music, or festivals, the balance lies in keeping the energy and excitement alive without letting it tip into hostility.

Deeper insight

Crowd Safety is a big part of what we do at Safe Events Global.

This article, and what happened at The Ryder Cup, has prompted many conversations, both within our own team and within the industry.

We plan to explore a few of the main angles on this over the coming months in a series of articles here on the blog. 

Check back regularly and keep an eye on our social channels so you don’t miss them.