From major sporting events to music festivals, large-scale gatherings demand a clear crisis communications plan to ensure safety, manage emergencies and keep the public informed.

For a city like Atlanta, it feels like some big event is always happening. From Atlanta United soccer games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium to the Shaky Knees music festival in Piedmont Park to DragonCon spanning between five hotels, the city has built a reputation for hosting high-profile and successful events.

Aside from geographical location, though, these events all have another thing in common: the sheer number of people they attract. In 2025, the average Atlanta United soccer game turnout was 45,600 fans, the Shaky Knees music festival crowd reached up to 40,000 people and DragonCon attendance boomed at more than 75,000 people. With crowds as massive as these, there are plenty of variables that both event organizers and city officials need to account for — depending on the event — such as waste management and potential road closures. But the variable that is always the top priority is safety.

Why Crisis Communications is Essential for Event Safety

To ensure the safety of event attendees, city officials and event organizers typically take extra measures, such as increasing security personnel, using newer technology like drones and manning command centers. However, these supplementary measures extend beyond local police teams collaborating with event security or EMTs being preemptively placed on site. They also include the creation of a crisis operations and communications plan. This blog is focusing on the communications portion of the plan.

In the event of an emergency, the distribution of information can be just as crucial in ensuring the public’s safety as the presence of additional security measures. Therefore, planning exactly how communication will work in the event of a crisis becomes the job of the event’s public relations (PR) team during the months leading up to the event.

Key Elements of a Crisis Communication Planning

Every crisis communications plan should answer five essential questions:

• What should be said?

• When should it be said?

• How should it be said?

• Who should be the one saying it?

• Who should they be saying it to?

During preparations for large-scale events, the PR team considers any potential emergencies (no matter how far-fetched) that may arise over the course of the event and starts working on a plan that can be applied in any of those scenarios. This may sound like paranoia, but it is better to be over-prepared and the last thing you want is to plan for a few basic emergencies, only to get hit with one that you didn’t plan for.

Once a “base” plan has been established, the team can prepare clear, precise and level-headed messaging, which will be delivered to the appropriate agencies, outlets and attendees when and/or if necessary.

Who Needs to be Considered in Event Crisis Communications?

In addition to this messaging, the PR team will develop strategies and procedures for applying necessary communications to the various groups of people who are likely to be present, such as law enforcement and on-site security, first responders, event attendees and media.

Coordinating Crisis Communications with Law Enforcement and Security Teams

It is important for any law enforcement or security personnel present at large-scale events to know the pre-planned messaging to ensure that, in the event of an emergency, potentially crucial information is relayed promptly, without fear of confusion. Additionally, crisis communications plans will include an “escalation chart,” which is critical for understanding the “chain of command” for communications and how event management is expected to coordinate with law enforcement and/or security — based on the nature of the crisis — so that messaging is consistent and aligned.

Communicating Effectively with First Responders During Event Emergencies

Medical emergencies — or emergencies requiring first responder involvement — should automatically be taken into consideration when starting a crisis communications plan. In these types of crises, the most essential plan details need to be easily accessible and ready to be shared among first responders and event staff as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Communicating With Event Attendees in a Crisis

Crisis communications plans will include general safety information for attendees, such as clearly and properly marked exits and how to use any city-wide mass alert notification services, such as NotifyATL (311).

The PR team also determines the best options for transmitting pertinent information among event attendees — based on what is available — as well as who manages the distribution of such information, should the need arise. Possible channels that may be used could include text alerts, intercom announcements or changes to digital signage.

Managing Media Communications During an Event Crisis

When you combine an emergency with a large number of people who can all be considered “photojournalists”, it can get extremely chaotic fast. This chaos is then easily exacerbated by any media tracking the event or responding to the scene. Therefore, communication teams must be prepared with messaging regarding any crisis event, which goes back to the five questions PR teams consider when making crisis communications plans — who, what, when, how and to whom.

The communications team will draft holding statements and general messaging capable of addressing a variety of possible incidents. They should also designate a spokesperson in advance to relay the nature of the situation, as well as any status updates and measures being taken to address it, to ensure that they can be calm and effective when relaying necessary information and to ensure that messaging will stay consistent between media outlets.

Best Practices for Event Crisis Communication Planning

To build a strong crisis communications plan, event organizers should focus on:

• Preparation: Develop messaging and protocols well in advance
• Consistency: Ensure all stakeholders are aligned on communication strategy
• Speed: Deliver information quickly through pre-approved channels
• Clarity: Use simple, direct language to avoid confusion
• Coordination: Maintain clear roles and responsibilities across teams
  

These best practices help organizations respond effectively when every second counts.

Comprehensive crisis communications plans are complex and layered, with varying levels of detail, procedure and personnel depending on both event type and specific emergency.  

For communications teams working on event coordination, these strategies are just as important as any other aspect of the planning process; preparing for the likely is a given but preparing for the unlikely means that they are never caught off guard and can respond with clarity, confidence and control.