I’m Dave Sammons, an independent event safety and security consultant based in Preston and working across the UK and internationally. I provide tactical leadership, event control, protective security and operational readiness when the pressure is real.
01 / LIVE EVENTSUK based.
Working internationally.
The short version
Safe, seamless events don’t happen by accident. They come from foresight, structure and people who understand what the plan needs to look like at 2am, in bad weather, with the radios busy and the pressure rising.
That’s where I work best: connecting strategy to delivery, asking the awkward questions early and helping good teams make sound decisions when it matters.
Where I add value
Calm, decisive leadership for control rooms, multi-agency teams and live incidents, from first briefing to final stand-down.
Explore service 02Plans, deployments and on-site assurance that connect protective security with how people actually move, behave and experience an event.
Explore service 03Event plans, procedures, exercises and contractor scrutiny designed to work in the field, not just look convincing in a document.
Explore service 04Tabletop exercises, incident reviews and improvement planning that turn lessons identified into changes people can actually deliver.
Explore serviceHow clients bring me in
Sometimes you need the plan pressure-tested. Sometimes you need someone embedded in the operation. Sometimes you need experienced judgement in the room now.
Pre-event assurance
Independent review, constructive challenge and practical actions across plans, command structures, contractors and operational readiness.
View this serviceLive event leadership
Calm command, joined-up teams, clear decisions and usable records from the first briefing to final stand-down.
View this serviceEmbedded operational support
A practical operator who works with your team, connects the functions and closes the gaps between them.
View this serviceExercises, debriefs & improvement
Tabletop exercises, scenario testing, incident review and improvement plans that people can actually deliver.
View this serviceNot sure which box it fits? Good. Real events rarely do.
Tell me what needs solvingExperience that travels
Different environments, same fundamentals: know the operation, understand the people and make the next decision a good one.
Selected work
The strongest event operations are often invisible to the audience. Behind that calm experience sits good preparation, honest conversations and people who know how to act.
01International motorsport
Qatar GP 2024 & 2025 · Saudi Arabian GP 2025
Designed Joint and Main Operations Centre procedures, policies and training, translating complex command structures into something teams could actually use.
02Major festivals
Download · Boardmasters · Camp Bestival
Tactical control, security coordination, overnight management and safeguarding leadership across some of the UK’s most demanding festival environments.
03Arenas & national moments
Co-op Live · Manchester City Homecoming · Ozzy Osbourne funeral cortege
Multi-agency control room and event control leadership where timing, judgement and clear communication matter more than job titles.
04Conferences & public events
AWS Summit London · Royal Ascot · BBC Radio 2 In The Park
Supporting organisers, venues and delivery partners to join up safety, production, security, stakeholder management and the attendee experience.
Different by design
Every event has its own culture. The job isn’t to flatten it into a standard template, it’s to understand it well enough that safety, security and operations protect what makes it special.
How I work
I look at every plan, problem and decision through the same three lenses. It keeps compliance connected to reality, and operations connected to people.
Will it work on a wet Sunday at 2am?
Plans have to survive real people, real pressure, busy radios, imperfect information and the inevitable curveball.
Is ownership clear when it matters?
Good governance should sharpen decisions: defined roles, usable records, visible assurance and no ambiguity about who is leading.
How will this feel to the person in it?
Safety, security and operations work best when they account for the customer, the crew and the person having their worst day.
Calm is a working method,
not a personality claim.
The useful bit about me
Military policing taught me evidence. Ambulance work taught me consequence. Events taught me that neither means much unless people can turn them into a good decision under pressure.
My career has moved through the Royal Military Police, the North West Ambulance Service Special Operations Response Team, national event medical operations and more than two decades of major event delivery. Today, through Events Resilience Group, I work with organisers, venues, local authorities and suppliers from early planning through live delivery and debrief.
I’m comfortable at a strategic table, in a Safety Advisory Group or leading a busy control room. I’m equally comfortable walking the site, talking to the people doing the job and finding out what the paperwork has missed.
Emergency Planning & Major Incident Management
What clients actually get
Someone who can tell the difference between a genuine operational risk and noise.
Someone willing to ask the difficult question before it becomes an expensive one.
Someone who can be candid, commercially aware and still entirely focused on safety.
Someone who will work with your team, not arrive to perform expertise at them.
Trusted under pressure
The strongest feedback is usually about more than technical knowledge. It is about judgement, trust and how it feels to work together when the pressure is real.
Some of the safest hands in the business. His ability to work through challenging situations with calm insight is a key reason we value him, and the dark humour and Red Bull have got us through some very difficult situations.
Dave was invaluable to the success of the event and in his support to the senior team. His commitment, retained knowledge and continued development of the plans will be key.
Dave has been exceptional. We couldn't have done it without his support and, with the greatest respect, he's stuck with us for 2027 onwards.
A pleasure to work alongside. Dave pulled the teams together and ran the security operation extremely well. I hope we work together again in the future.
Thank you for your assistance pre-event and throughout. It helps massively to have this engagement and openness to achieve the overall objective of keeping people safe.
And, for the avoidance of doubt
Live events are built by people. I believe the best working relationships leave room for candour, kindness and the occasional dinosaur.
Need clarity, confidence or an experienced pair of hands?
Bring me in early to pressure-test the plan, ask me to lead on site, or call when something complex needs untangling.
A quick brief
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