DOHA, Qatar - Global experts in major event safety and security are gathering in Qatar to discuss and share best practices to mitigate potential threats facing major sporting events.
The three-day (27 - 29 November) meeting aims to produce concrete recommendations on strengthening physical security capabilities, as well as on improving the formulation and implementation of security architectures for major events.
The meeting is being held under the auspices of INTERPOL's Project Stadia, funded by Qatar, and which supports Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy in its preparations for the 2022 FIFA world cup, as well as other INTERPOL member countries preparing major events.
The project also seeks to create a centre of excellence with a repository of best practices to help INTERPOL member countries plan and implement security preparations for major sporting events.
“The great opportunities presented by the World Cup to host nations inevitably come with challenges. The security risk which accompanies such a great event is one of the most prominent challenges which host nations must work to overcome,” said Ali Mohammed Al-Ali, Deputy Executive Director, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Qatar.
"In a rapidly and constantly changing international context marked by evolving security concerns, international policing must pull together a diversified range of expertise to ensure major events remain safe and secure to protect the public, and ensure competitors can concentrate on their performance without distractions about their safety,” said Falah Abdulla Al-Dosari, Senior Project Manager, Project Stadia.
“This is a role INTERPOL’s Project Stadia undertakes to help guide law enforcement worldwide to deliver excellence in major event security," added Mr Al-Dosari.
The meeting was attended by representatives from Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, France, Hong Kong (China), the Philippines, Qatar and Singapore, as well as from the Council of Europe and the UK's Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA).
Project Stadia organizes annual expert group meetings on the key themes of legislation, physical security and cybersecurity.
These meetings bring together global experts from law enforcement, event organizing committees, government, the private sector, academia and civil society to explore state-of-the-art research and analysis and develop independent recommendations for planning and executing security arrangements for major international sporting events.
In April 2017, Project Stadia will host the 1st International Major Event Security Conference in Doha, involving key decision-makers, experts and practitioners from around the world.