The Challenge
Each year, Dublin Pride requires a safe and accessible route for more than 60,000 parade participants, while also accommodating an audience of over 200,000 spectators. In addition, the festival’s finale – a large-scale open-air event – needs a suitable site that must be sourced, designed, and managed to meet both operational and audience needs.
The challenge is amplified by the ever-changing urban environment.
With the number of other city events increasing each year, and major roadworks and developments constantly reshaping the streetscape, delivering a smooth, safe, and enjoyable Pride experience demands meticulous planning, adaptability, and close coordination with multiple stakeholders.
The Solution
We operate as an embedded extension of the Dublin Pride team, working on the event almost year-round.
For the six months leading up to the festival, we enter a focused planning phase – designing routes, coordinating with city stakeholders, and preparing crowd and event safety strategies that ensure the day runs smoothly.
Our involvement began in 2015, a landmark year when the Marriage Referendum meant Pride was destined to be both the largest in its history and a defining moment for future festivals.
The unprecedented turnout that followed the referendum’s success required exceptional planning and safety management, and the result was a celebration that became a touchstone for Pride in Ireland.
Since then, we’ve partnered with Dublin Pride for eleven consecutive years, providing guidance, operational insight, and hands-on support as the festival has grown in scale, complexity, and significance.
Each year, we assemble a highly experienced team of Crowd and Event Safety professionals who work seamlessly with organisers to safeguard both participants and spectators.
While our role focuses on operational excellence, we know it’s the people – the community, the volunteers, the performers, and the audience – who make Dublin Pride what it is.
Our job is to create the safe space where that magic can happen.
The Result
Each year, hundreds of thousands of people take part in or line the streets to watch the Dublin Pride Festival – rain, hail, or shine.
Over nearly a decade of partnership, we’ve helped ensure that this annual celebration remains safe, inclusive, and unforgettable.
The festival has evolved significantly during our involvement, adapting to city developments, organisational changes, and new creative directions.
Through it all, our consistent support has enabled Dublin Pride to navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and continually improve the experience for participants and spectators alike.
Today, Dublin Pride stands as one of the city’s major annual events – requiring months of dedicated planning and collaboration between our team and the Pride organisers.
Our contribution provides the operational stability and safety assurance that allows the festival to grow, innovate, and welcome everyone in the spirit of celebration.
Our Part
We provide a broader range of services on Dublin Pride than we do on many of our other events.
Those services are typical of the full-service event management company we started out as, including:
- Licence Application
- Capacity calculations
- Site drawings & maps
- Stakeholder management
- Production Management
- Budget Management
- Event Controller
- Safety Officer
- Deputies
- 20-person Safety Management Team
- Site Manager
