Securing Sporting Events – Challenge Has Never Been Greater

Securing Sporting Events – Challenge Has Never Been Greater

securing sporting events

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Predictive technology will play a vital role in securing future major sport events. During a keynote speech on smart cities and the future of sport safety and security, Michael Hershman, Group CEO of the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), encouraged more host cities and nations to integrate smart data systems within their safety and security planning.

Speaking during the INTERPOL World 2017 conference, he acknowledged the growing and significant security challenges facing many major sport event hosts and gave several insights into emerging trends and technologies currently being developed that could help predict potential threats.

According to aroundtherings.com, he said: “The challenge of securing high-profile international sporting events has never been greater and the security threats now facing host cities and nations around the world are now hugely complex, sophisticated and organized.

“In order to combat and prevent growing threats like cybersecurity, terrorism and hooliganism, it is important that there is a step-change in future public and private security efforts and it is vital that we urgently look at how emerging smart technology can be proactively used to support and safeguard major sport events in the future.”

Hershman highlighted examples of how emerging artificial intelligence and predictive technology can help automate, accelerate and enhance the ability to predict potential security threats, as well as emphasising how smart data and analytics can be used to identify and forecast emerging trends and risks.

“As part of the ICSS’s ongoing mission, we are committed to sharing our expertise to benefit sport and, alongside key partners and organisations around the world, are working to identify new and pioneering ways to help protect and safeguard sport. This is why, alongside several key partners, we are in the process of developing the ICSS ARMED Data-Fusion System (DFS) – a comprehensive security resilience and predictive analysis platform designed to collect, integrate and analyse data to help event organizers, emergency services and law enforcement agencies predict potential threats and deliver safe and secure major events.”

“As we have seen recently, technology that is used in the right way can play a pivotal role in protecting and securing large-scale major sporting events. At the ICSS, we believe strongly that there is now a clear need to help strengthen the smart data and security capabilities of major events and law enforcement agencies, as well as proactively enhance their situational awareness in the high-demanding security situations.”