Knowledge. Network. Responsibility.

IBIT24 - 10th IBIT Conference on Crowdmanagement & Event Safety Management 

October 15th & 16th 2024// Cologne //RheinEnergie STADION

IBIT24 is Germany’s leading conference for exchange, transfer of knowledge and discussion of relevant issues in crowd safety management, event safety & security and the organization of crowded spaces. In addition to more than 35 presentations, discussion panels and workshops, you can expect an exhibition and networking area, an extensive social program with stadium tours, World Café and table-football tournament, an innovation forum and a big networking party!

Our English Program

It is a tradition that the IBIT conference - though taking place in Germany, offers an english program, too.  The program will be constantly updated.

Íse Murphy-Morris  Íse Murphy-Morris MSc is an events consultant specialising in crowd safety, event transport and zone ex based on her background over the last fifteen years within major sport events, public events and festivals. With an MSc in Crowd Safety & Risk Analysis and as an Associate Lecturer in Crowd Behaviour and Managing Event Safety at the University of Plymouth, Íse shares her knowledge with the next generation of event professionals. She is the UK Deputy on the board of the Global Crowd Management Alliance (GCMA) and is an active member of the UK Crowd Management Association (UKCMA), contributing to the advancement of crowd safety practices worldwide.

Henrik Bondo Nielsen Henrik Bondo Nielsen has been part of Roskilde Festival's management for over 35 years and has from there solid and broad experience in festival management. Today, as division manager for security and service, he contributes with insight into logistics, infrastructure, and crowd safety management. Henrik Bondo Nielsen also has a large network in the European live music industry and was one of the initiators of YES-Group - the international network for health and safety at music festivals, which today is anchored under Yourope (the European festival association).

Morten Therkildsen Morten Therkildsen is the Director of Safety for the Roskilde Festival Group, responsible for crowd safety, security, and emergency management. He has been in the industry since 1994, specializing in safety since 2002. Morten founded a crowd safety company in 2006, later integrated into the Roskilde Festival Group. His experience includes managing safety for major events like Eurovision 2014 and WorldPride 2021. Notable publications include "Culture and Sports during a pandemic" (2022) and "It’s Time to Rethink Show Stop Procedures for Artists and Audience Safety" (2023). Morten holds a BA Hons in Crowd Safety Management and an MSc in Crowded Places and Public Safety Management, alongside education as an air traffic controller.

Chris Kemp Professor Chris Kemp is a former rock promotor, venue manager and university Pro Vice Chancellor and founder, CEO and owner of Mind over Matter Consultancy. Chris Kemp has expertise in the management of crowded space and the development of risk analysis processes for venues globally. His work includes the Pope’s visit to Romania, the European Football Championships, the Olympic and Commonwealth Games and Formula 1 racing events. He has provided crowded space consultancy for eight major London railway stations and supported the British Olympic coaches for the Rio and Tokyo Games. Chris Kemp has written a series of books on managing crowds. MOM conduct safety audits, counter terrorism contingency planning, plan testing and tabletop delivery for clients including AEG, Wembley, the FA, UK Sport, the United Nations, the Scottish Police College, Roskilde Festival.	Roxana Luca Roxana Luca is an events professional, started in events production in 2006 and delivered many successful projects from concept phase to implementation for Pope Francis‘ visit in Blaj, RO, to various international productions for ARTmania, Emagic, Pozitif Live and many other promoters. Production and crowd management go hand in hand for her, becoming a member of YES Group since 2014 and board member since 2024.	Andy Mestka Andy Mestka has experience as an Health & Safety Manager for festivals, football grounds and other cultural and sporting events since over 20 years. As the 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 passed the Bachelor of Arts in Crowd Safety Management at Bucks New University he also shares his experience and knowledge as a consultant for security companies, promoters and government. Andy, founder of SAFEEVENT, the agency for crowd management, also often delivers speeches at international conferences and symposiums. His aim is to make events safer.
Sabine Funk Sabine Funk is a recognised expert in the field of event security and crowd management with extensive experience and in-depth expertise.  She 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. Her teaching activities include a guest lectureship at the Federal Academy for Civil Protection and Civil Defence (BABZ). Sabine Funk is not only theoretically sound, with a BA (hons) in Crowd Safety management and other qualifications as a master craftswoman in event technology, occupational safety specialist and business economist, but also looks back to nearly 30 years of practical experience with events of all types. She is a member of the Steering Board of the Yourope Event Safety Group (YES Group), second chairwoman of the Association for the Promotion of Major Events (VFSG e.V.) and NATO Civil Expert for High Profile Events.	Alexandra von Samson Alexandra von Samson has been working in the event industry since 1997, starting out as a trainee at an event venue in Berlin. This was followed by local production management, production management on tour in a wide variety of sectors and in 2004 she graduated as a master craftswoman in event technology. Over the years, she has specialized in the field of event and visitor safety as well as approval procedures and communication with authorities. Today, Alexandra von Samson is responsible for the Lollapalooza Festival and the Superbloom Festival as well as stadium tours in these areas and also acts as event manager.	Gerard van Duykeren Gerard van Duykeren is a prominent figure in the field of event security and crowd management, with over 35 years of experience. As the CEO of TSC Crowd Management, he has been involved in more than 5,000 events. He played a key role in developing the first Minor Education Program in Europe on event safety at Utrecht University and has authored several books on the topic. Van Duykeren is also an active member of various safety and security organizations, including the European Festivals Association's Event Safety Group and the Dutch Event Industry Association​.

Still not sure whether you should buy a ticket? Maybe ↓ this insight into IBIT23 ↓ will change your mind! 

Responsibility

Our efforts to reduce our impact on our world or to use the conference to even improve something includes a lot of aspects: From reducing ressources to compensating unavoidable emissions: there’s a lot we do and we constantly improve.  Some of our measures:

• Offer of a special priced DB event ticket 
• Exclusively vegetarian/vegan food
• ECOPROFIT certified conference location
• Re-use of material whenever possible
• "Taler statt Goodies" (Coins instead of Goodies) initiative: no giveaways and goodie bags full of "things". Instead, the money is donated to various charitable projects
• #IBITREES (speaker’s gifts) Last year we planted about 100 meters new insect and bird protection hedges
• Support of "Share the Meal" initiative of the World Health Organization: Last year, more than 1,000 meals were collected
  

Route description

The IBIT24 will take place at the RheinEnergieSTADION in Cologne. The event area is sufficiently signposted on site.

You can reach the stadium by public transport via KVB line 1 (stop: "RheinEnergieSTADION").  The KVB line 1 is connected to the network at the stops "Bahnhof Weiden-West" and "Köln Messe/Deutz" with the Deutsche Bahn network.

You can reach the RheinEnergieSTADION by car via the freeway ring road Kreuz Köln West (A1/A4). From the A1, take the "Köln Bocklemünd", "Köln Lövenich" or "Köln Weiden/Frechen" exits. From the A4, take the exit "Köln Klettenberg" or "Frechen Nord". Then follow the signs to the stadium.

For arriving by cab, please use the following address: Aachener Str. 999, 50933 Cologne, Germany