Policing Eurovision - Michael Smith, Rebecca Phythian

This book offers a rare behind-the-scenes account of successful multi-agency working at a major event – specifically, how Liverpool planned and delivered the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, one of the world’s most high-profile live events. With 37 competing nations and more than 12,000 accredited staff, Eurovision represented the largest and most complex multi-agency operation the city had ever undertaken. Based on five months of exceptional access to planning meetings and nine days of live events, this book reveals how organisations, including Culture Liverpool, the BBC, the police, emergency services and event partners, worked together to manage a fast-moving operation during a period marked by global security concerns. Using field observations, policy documents, interviews and surveys, the authors show how agencies coordinated to address potential challenges such as crowd safety, cyber threats and counter terrorism risks. The book highlights the relationships, leadership approaches and information sharing practices that shaped Liverpool’s internationally recognised success in hosting major events. It also offers candid insights into moments of pressure, collaboration and critical decision-making, providing practical lessons for anyone involved in planning or managing large-scale operations. By opening a normally closed world, the book presents a unique multi-perspective view of how Eurovision was “policed,” the success behind the “L
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