Originally founded by Prof. Chris Kemp (Mind over Matter, UK) and Henrik Bondo Nielsen (Roskilde Festival, DK), the YES Group has been created following an accident at Roskilde Festival in 2000 that lead to the death of nine people. The initial goal was to improve safety for festivals across Europe, and this is still YES Group’s goal many years later. Today, the YES Group is a strong network, led and managed by a team of high profile experts in event safety and crowd management, representing venues and festivals among the most respected in Europe.
Now working as a think tank in the field of Event Safety, Security and Crowded Spaces management, the YES Group (YOUROPE Event Safety Group) influences and promotes best practices in this field across Europe. The Group has organised numerous meetings and seminars between Event Safety managers and experts for the past 20 years, to enhance learning and encourage the exchange of experiences in the field.
Having expertise in both academic theory and practice in the field, YES Group members and associates are regularly invited as speakers to public conferences, panel sessions and professional conventions at national and international levels to share their knowledge.
Every year at the European Festival Awards ceremony, the YES Group gives out the Event Safety Award (formerly Health & Safety Innovation Award) to a European festival. Decided by a jury of YES Group members, the award goes to a festival who played a substantial role during the previous year in moving towards safer festivals and events.
The YES Group actively supports knowledge transfer at all levels – within the festival and event community, across professional networks, and throughout the wider live events sector. This commitment is reflected in the group’s contribution to the 3F Project and the publication of numerous knowledge modules designed to share expertise, promote best practices, and strengthen professional competence across Europe.
Who is the YES Group?
The YES Group is YOU! It is everyone who has decided to learn, to share, to create – in order to improve the safety of crowds.
Every member organization of YOUROPE is highly encouraged to send representatives as participants to YES Group activities. Further, YES Group is always looking for young festival professionals who are interested in the topics of the group.
If you are interested to join the seminars and also to shape the future of the group yourself by becoming part of the board, don’t hesitate to contact us!
In addition, considering the field of knowledge covered by the YES Group is not only relevant for YOUROPE members, the YES Group will also admit associate members who are not a part of YOUROPE to its seminars.
Would you like to become an associate member of the YES Group?
Would you like to receive information about our future activities?
Would you like to share your knowledge and experiences with our YES Group?
Please feel free to contact us!
YES Group board
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Henrik Bondo Nielsen has been a leading figure in event safety for over 25 years, having held overall responsibility for safety at Roskilde Festival for more than two decades. Following the tragic accident at the festival in 2000, he played a key role in reshaping safety practices for live music events both in Denmark and across Europe. In 2006, he was among the founding members of the YES Group (YOUROPE Event Safety), a collaborative platform dedicated to sharing knowledge and improving safety standards at European festivals. Today, Henrik serves as Senior Advisor to Roskilde Festival, sharing insights from 25 years of development in crowd and event safety.
Sabine is a recognised expert in the field of event security and crowd management with extensive experience and in-depth expertise. She has been working in the event industry for over three decades and has established herself as one of the leading experts in her field. Her expertise is reflected in her involvement in various standard-setting projects and she has also played a key role in creating the “Recommendations on traffic and crowd management for events” (EVC). Sabine has been working for IBIT GmbH since 2010, where she acts as event manager and consultant for security and public order services. She regularly holds lectures and seminars on topics such as crowd management or emergency planning.
Andy Mestka has more than 20 years of experience as a Health & Safety Manager for festivals, football matches and other cultural and sporting events. As Head of Security for the OpenAir Festival St.Gallen, he is also part of the YES Group, the YOUROPE Event Safety Group. He is the appointed Safety & Security Manager for the UEFA Womens EURO 2025 in Switzerland. Having obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Crowd Safety Management at Bucks New University, he also passes on his experience and knowledge as a consultant to security companies, event organizers and authorities.
Morten is the Director of Safety at Roskilde Festival Group. With his academic knowledge from a BA in Crowd Safety Management and an MSc in Crowded Places and Public Safety Management, he tries to build the bridge between academia and practical knowledge of crowd safety management. His team provides training and consultancy as well as safety staff for hundreds of shows a year – and of course Roskilde Festival, a 100% non-profit festival gathering 130,000 people per day for 8 days.
Pascal is head of Department Safety, Security and Services at Paleo Festival, one of the major events in Switzerland. He is also coordinating the YES Group (YOUROPE Event Safety Group). Being a sociologist and researcher in the field of risk and urban safety analysis, he has developed emergency and crisis management plans for major concerts/events. He also provides education programmes in this field through iSSUE (the Swiss Institute for Urban and Event Safety), the institute he founded in 2016.
Alexandra has been in the entertainment industry for over 20 years and has been working in health & safety as well as safety & security for years. 2004 she graduated as a master craftswoman for event technology. Over the years, she has specialized in the field of event and visitor security as well as approval procedures and communication with authorities. Today, Alexandra oversees the Lollapalooza Festival and the Superbloom Festival, among others, as well as stadium tours in the aforementioned areas and also acts as an event manager. Being part of the YOUROPE Event Safety (YES) Group Managing Board, her focus is on gaining and spreading knowledge in the field of event safety.
Markus has been working in the event sector since 1991 and has gained experience in various areas of the music industry. In 2000, he specialized in the planning and coordination of security structures and measures at major events. He has been project manager for 15 years and is responsible for the planning and implementation of the security concept of DAS FEST in Karlsruhe. Since 2014, he has been working as deputy managing director at Karlsruhe Marketing und Event GmbH with a focus on project management and as coordinator of infrastructure and security for major events in the city of Karlsruhe. Markus has been a member of the YOUROPE Event Safety (YES) Group since 2002.
Ralf is one of the founding shareholders of IBIT GmbH. He studied Crowd and Safety Management, BA (Hons), in the UK and is a recognized expert in safety concepts and crowd management in Germany. Since 2004, he has been the Head of Event Technology and Security at the ESPRIT arena in Düsseldorf and was Head of Security Management at Düsseldorf Congress Sport and Event from 2014 to 2018. Ralf is a Content Board Member of the YOUROPE Event Safety (YES) Group and is very well-connected internationally, thanks to more than 30 years of experience in the event sector.
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