Showing posts with label Euro2020. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Euro2020. Show all posts

Saturday 21 August 2021

Euro2020 generated a 'significant risk to public health' across the UK even when England played overseas. Public Disorder meant Covid19 checks were suspended at the Wembley Final.

 


The UK Government Events Research Programme has published a report on the Public Health Impact of mass cultural and sporting events on the prevalence of Covid 19. LINK

The report covers Euro 2020 matches including the final at Wembley Stadium on July 12th and will feed into various inquiries, hopefully including the two internal inquiries agreed by Brent Council. LINK

The disorder and stadium invasion at Wembley Stadium on July 11th when England played Italy  probably had an impact as did the nature of football crowds and pre-match socialising and drinking.

I reprint the substance of the report blow. A full version with footnotes can be found on the link above.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The increasing number of reported cases across all events reflects the increasing community prevalence of COVID-19 during that period. Both the EURO 2020 matches at Wembley and the All England Lawn Tennis Championships were mass spectator sporting events taking place on multiple days within a short period of time at an outdoor stadium in Greater London. There were similar numbers of spectators and high capacity in the stadia, reaching 75% for the later EURO 2020 matches and 100% on Centre Court at the Wimbledon final. Both required evidence of vaccination or negative LFD or natural immunity as a condition of entry. There are very markedly different numbers of positive cases reported as associated with these events, with those associated with the Wimbledon event more comparable with those reported from the other ERP events running concurrently, and with the numbers testing positive within the wider community at that time. This suggests that the EURO 2020 matches generated a level of COVID -19 transmission over and above that which would be more commonly associated with large crowds attending an outdoor sporting event with measures in place to mitigate transmission.

The number of potentially infected persons attending Wembley stadium increased as the tournament progressed, reaching more than 2,000 at the EURO 2020 final despite event goers requiring a COVID pass for entry; this was in contrast with much lower infectious cases detected at other events occurring in the same month. This raises questions on the utility of individuals self-reporting tests in reducing the prevalence of COVID infection at rare or special occasion events and the longer term deliverability of self-testing as an option to mitigate disease transmission.

Research teams present at each of these events have verbally reported stark differences in crowd and spectator behaviour (personal communication from Dr Aoife Hunt, formal report in preparation). Whilst attendees at Wimbledon were reported to be largely compliant with the crowd management measures in place, at the Wembley stadium the concourse areas became densely populated with shouting, chanting and boisterous behaviour with close contact in these areas before and during the semi-final and final matches.

 

At both venues alcohol was served, but at Wembley attendees were not allowed to take this into the seated accommodation. At both venues the compliance with risk mitigation measures was variable. However, the initial reports from research teams indicate that the Wembley spectators became less compliant with mitigation such as face coverings as the tournament progressed. In addition to this, the carbon dioxide levels reported from the concourse areas were higher than those recorded at other high risk settings in the ERP events, including the densely crowded areas at the Download music festival, and will have compounded the risk associated with the high numbers of spectators potentially infectious at the event itself (personal communication from Dr Liora Malki-Epshtein UCL, formal report in preparation).

 

Finally, the public disorder offences occurring at EURO 2020 have been widely reported, including an undefined number of ticketless fans who gained entry to the stadium. Public disorder in and around the stadium meant that COVID-19 status checks were suspended for the Final.

 

The EURO 2020 events had an increasing impact on a national scale which was not observed for other events within the ERP, suggesting that there were additional factors associated with these events and that the risk of COVID transmission was not mitigated by the control measures in place for entry to the event itself. There was increasing national interest as the tournament progressed, as this was the first time an English team were in an international final for 55 years generating a sense of the final stages being a ‘once in a generation’ occasion. This will not be replicated for all sport tournaments taking place over the winter, nor for all football matches. However, previous crowd behaviours associated with football fans has underpinned the methods used to manage these crowds including the legislation in place governing alcohol consumption within football stadia. In general terms, this has the effect of concentrating people into as few areas as possible while crowd management strategies often hold groups until they can be moved en-masse in a controlled manner. To mitigate the risk of transmission of COVID-19 it would be preferable to dissipate the crowds across as wide an area as possible and manage the movement over long periods of time, as happened at other events including the Wimbledon tennis championships. Further analysis of movement strategies will be reported as part of ERP phase 3 reports.

In addition to the cases associated directly with Wembley stadium, there was a noticeable national impact on COVID-19 case rates for key games including the Ukraine versus England quarter-final (3 July in Rome), for the England versus Denmark semi-final (7 July) and for the England versus Italy final (11 July), reflecting that in the later stages of the EURO 2020 tournament people came together across the country to watch the games and celebrate. There are higher proportions of events coded as pubs or bars on each of these dates compared to other dates for COVID-19 cases in England.

The case numbers associated with the events were detected using the routine reporting systems and were mainly from individuals who were symptomatic. As high proportions of cases, especially in young healthy individuals are asymptomatic, this is likely to be an underestimate of the full impact of these events. In addition, contact tracing is only undertaken for PCR test results and supervised LFD test results (those who are positive on home LFDs are requested to undertake an immediate PCR test) and recall bias of those contacted will vary. While there is no detailed age and sex breakdown for those who attended, it is highly likely that certain sports events (for example, football, golf) were more likely to have higher male and younger demographic attending. The age distribution also likely reflects the impact of vaccination; by 11 July 2021, more than 80% of those over 50 years were fully vaccinated and less than 30% of those under 40 years were fully vaccinated.

Contact tracing information can indicate events or locations individuals have attended while at risk of transmitting COVID-19 or places where transmission may have occurred.


It is not possible to say with certainty how many individuals transmitted COVID-19 at an event or venue, nor exactly where an individual contracted the virus. The Euro Final match did not take place until 8pm, meaning that those attending may have been engaging in social activities during their journey to the match, and prior to entering the stadium itself. Transmission of infection may have occurred at the event itself or during any of the other reported activities associated with the event, of which attending a pub or
restaurant is the most frequently reported.

Neither full vaccination nor a negative LFD test will completely eliminate the possibility of an infectious individual attending an event, but it should reduce the likelihood of someone transmitting highly infectious amounts of virus to a large number of individuals attending the event.  

 

CONCLUSION

 

The EURO2020 tournament and England’s progress to the EURO final generated a significant risk to public health across the UK even when England played overseas. This risk arose not just from individuals attending the event itself, but included activities undertaken during travel and associated social activities. For the final and semi-final games at Wembley, risk mitigation measures in place were less effective in controlling COVID transmission than was the case for other mass spectator sports events.


EURO2020-related transmissions have also been documented in Scotland where 2,632 individuals self-reported attending a EURO2020 event in the UK; and Finland, where 947 new SARS-CoV-2-positive cases were linked to travel to Moscow, Russia.


Whilst some of this may be attributed to a set of circumstances which are unlikely to be replicated for the forthcoming sporting season, other aspects may be important to consider including mitigations for spectators to consider such as face coverings when travelling to and from events and minimising crowding in poorly ventilated indoors spaces such as bars and pubs where people may congregate to watch events. It is also important that individuals are informed to reduce the risk of transmission from aerosol exposure related to shouting and chanting in large groups by improving ventilation in enclosed spaces.

Other risk mitigation measures at high community prevalence include reducing the number of persons entering events or venues who are potentially infectious or at risk of severe disease or hospitalisation by promoting attendance by fully vaccinated individuals will be important. Promoting vaccination and the wearing of face coverings for those attending events will also reduce the risk of transmission associated with the journey to and from the event and associated social activities. Finally, event organisers should consider measures to manage the density of crowds in areas such as hospitality and concessions on the concourses, and entry and exit points to the event.

 


Tuesday 17 August 2021

Cllr Butt turns down public review into Brent Council’s actions taken before, during and after the Euro 2020 Final to establish the lessons learnt


 

In the aftermath of the disturbances at the Euro202 Final at Wembley Stadium the Council’s Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee added an emergency item to its agenda and discussed what had happened with council officers before agreeing a recommendation to be made to the Cabinet.

 

Cllr Roxanne Mashari presented that recommendation yesterday. She said that there was public concern in Brent about the disturbances and resulting injuries as well as concern over the public health implications of what had been called the Wembley Covid Variant. The Committee had been disappointed with the lack of detail coming from officers.

 

Cllr Mashari thanked Brent CEO Carolyn Downs for sharing an incident report with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee as well as the Chair of the Community and Well Being Scrutiny Committee but was concerned at the lack of publicly available information regarding the Council’s activities and responsibilities on the day.

 

The Scrutiny Committee resolved that the Council should hold a public  review into its actions before, during and after the Final to establish lessons learnt.

 

Responding the Leader of the Council, Cllr Butt, said that there were live cases going through the courts at present and no one from the Council or anyone else would be making any public statement about what had happened on that day.

 

He said that the Council would cooperate fully with the Casey Inquiry and went on to thank council officers for the work that they had done ‘going above and beyond what was actually required’ – work that had been in preparation over 3 years.

 

Cllr Butt reiterated that it would be wrong to make any comment or to assert any wrongdoing from anyone until investigations had concluded. He thanked everyone for ensuring that the event place in very difficult and challenging circumstances.  He added that the Government had recommended that the number of people attending the matches should be staggered slowly and that was exactly what had happened. The Council had played its full part in making sure that that everyone who needed testing and support had it. Every single service in the Council absolutely played its part and would continue to do so.

 

No other Cabinet member spoke, and no vote was taken on the Scrutiny Committee’s recommendation.

 

Friday 13 August 2021

Will Brent Cabinet decide to set up its own review of Euro2020 Final disturbances and security breaches?

 

A month ago Brent Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee decided to recommend that the Brent Cabinet set up an internal inquiry, open to the public, into the disturbances and security breaches at the Euro2020 Final at Wembley Stadium. LINK  (The precise working is not available  as the Minutes of the meeting have not yet been published.)

The recommendation was not tabled at the subsequent Cabinet meeting but references from the Council's Scrutiny Committees are on the agenda for Monday's 10am Cabinet meeting. No reports are attached to the item.

The Brent CEO made a statement shortly after the Final but Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt was silent until the Football Association set up its own review. He welcomed the review in a statement on the Council website but did not mention any independent Brent Council review:

We welcome the independent review, announced by the FA, to get to the bottom of the scenes we saw at the EURO 2020 Final. It is important that a full and thorough review takes place and that any lessons that can be taken from the events of the England v Italy game are learnt.

The council will be fully participating in that review and will take on board any recommendations Baroness Casey has for activities under our remit.

Clearly there is a difference between participating in another organisation's review and carrying out your own. Cllr Roxanne Mashari, chair of the Public Realm Scrutiny Committee, recognised this in her own tweet after the FA's announcement:

Promising to see the FA announce an independently chaired review of security breaches at Wembley Stadium. Essential that this review includes Brent Council who have yet to commit to reviewing their own actions and producing a report on lessons learned.

Saturday 17 July 2021

Two men arrested over Euro2020 Final theft

 From Metropolitan Police

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of theft following allegations that they took items and shared them, for the purpose of allowing people to have unauthorised access to Wembley stadium during the Euro 2020 final.

An 18-year-old man from Ilford, London and an 18-year-old man from Newham, London have both been released under police investigation while enquiries continue.

The action comes following a commitment by the Met to investigate offences during the Euro 2020 final, which resulted in a breach of security at Wembley stadium.

Claim that 'Wembley Variant' soaring amongst fans after Euro2020

 I have just returned from Olympic Way where there was a positive and friendly atmosphere with many families present BUT even in the most crowded outdoor spaces no masks being worn. However, masks were worn in Sainsbury's my fans stocking up with beer,

The i Newspaper has published a story claiming that Covid19 is soaring amongst groups of fans who attended the Euro2020 matches at Wembley Stadium - sufficient for it to be dubbed the 'Wembley Variant'.

Report HERE It was published yesterday and updated this morning.

The introduction to the report.

Swathes of England football fans have reported testing positive for coronavirus following the Euros final on Sunday night, as Public Health England (PHE) issued renewed calls for regular testing ahead of the lifting of restrictions on Monday.

Some fans said that “pretty much everyone” they knew who headed to the stadium had contracted the virus or was self-isolating. The large numbers of fans reporting positive Covid tests following the match has led people to dub the illness “the Wembley variant”.

The final at Wembley, which was part of a Government trial to test the safety of large events, saw 60,000 fans attend with no social distancing or masks after producing a negative test result. However, thousands more congregated outside and dozens of ticketless fans stormed the stadium.

Government Data up to July 12th LINK

 


Tuesday 13 July 2021

UPDATED: Brent Scrutiny recommend to Brent Council Cabinet that they undertake a public review of lessons learnt from Sunday's incidents at Wembley Stadium

 


Shortly after UEFA announced an investigation into Sunday's events at the Euro2020 match at Wembley, Brent Scrutiny Committee attempted to find out whether Brent Council was going to hold a review of its own responsibilities in the matter.


Brent Council is responsible for scrutinising all the public safety arrangements at the Stadium and for issuing the safety licence. The Council also chairs the Wembley Stadium Advisory Group.

 

Recording of yesterday's meeting

Committee Chair, Roxanne Mashari, had to repeatedly remind officers that the Committee had a right and a duty to scrutinise these issues in the light of the seriousness of what had taken place. Residents need to be reassured that concerns were addressed and that similar events would not happen again.

In response officers said it was too soon after the event to consider these issues and wanted to wait until Tuesday's meeting with partners in the SafetyAdvisory Group for information that would be forthcoming. The Advisory Group includes the Council, Police, Wembley Stadium and the Football Association. It was evident that Chris Bryant, representing the FA, had been taken by surprise by the UEFA announcement.

Chris Whyte for Brent Council outlined the Council's role and particularly the activities of the Council's two Public Safety Officers who were present before, during and after events to check arrangements both inside and outside the stadium. Such arrangements included how the checking of tickets at turnstiles was managed; management of licensed premises inside the stadium; management of the seating arrangements once the match started; crowd management outside the stadium including the enforcement of Public Space Prohibition Orders over illegal trading, advertising, ticket touting; and working with partners via the Stadium Control Room bringing any incidents to their attention. No councillor questioned whether two Public Safety Officers were sufficient for such a large stadium with 60,000 plus attending.

Whyte clarified it was only the Council's operation alplan that he was responsible for signing off, and not those covering policing and stewarding. The plan was forwarded to the CEO and Council Leader. The police and Wembley Stadium made their own risk assessments for specific events and subsequent deployment decisions.

Cllr Hassan wanted to know the terms of reference for any inquiry and what it would cover and whether the Council deployed different numbers for different events. Chris Whyte said it was too early to discuss terms of reference for an inquiry and the Council should wait for the meeting with other stakeholders. The level of resources that the Council had deployed recognised the importance of Euro2020 ands was well in excess of the number that would be deployed at a Spice Girls concert.

Cllr Mashari was frustrated at not being able to get a clear commitment to a public review by the Council itself and her suggestion that the Committee recommend that Tuesday's stakeholders meeting should be held in public was rejected. Cllr Janice Long suggested that this  demand amounted to grandstanding and Mashari should not believe everything she read in the papers. Cllr Mashari said the allegation of grandstanding diminished the seriousness of the incident where people were injured and a tragedy could have happened.

 


 

Video Evidence in Tos Atkins' BBC  Report HERE

After further discussion when most members agreed to wait for more information, the Committee agreed that information from the Safety Advisory Group, including the Minutes, should be brought to the next Scrutiny Committee meeting and made a recommendation that the Cabinet undertake a public review of lessons learnt from Sunday's incidents.

The leader of the Council, Muhammed Butt, was present latterly during the discussion but did not take part.

Another informative article worth reading revealing there were advance plans for fans to 'jib' into the stadium- points to a failure in pre-match intelligence:  https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/euro-2020-wembley-security-failings-b1884231.html


Wembley Stadium mayhem on tonight's Brent_Council Scrutiny Committee agenda

 From the Independent LINK

It is worth reading the above article in full ahead of tonight's Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee. Using an innovation introduced by Committee Chair, Cllr Roxanne Mashari, the Committee will be able to have a preliminary discussion about Sunday's events, under Item 8 : Topical Item.

The meeting starts at 6pm and can be watched live HERE.


Monday 12 July 2021

Need for an inquiry into what went wrong after security breaches & fighting at Euro2020 Final at Wembley Stadium

 

 

Video by Mr Lee Baines LINK

 

SKY NEWS COVERAGE LINK 

Detailed analysis in the Independent

Further videos via Twitter:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1414316503445483530

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1414313656850976787

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1414277010743078912

 

https://twitter.com/Gav_M/status/1414277290775695365

 

https://twitter.com/dandicker83/status/1414272491699245056

 

A minority of fans, marred yesterday's Euro2020 Final before the game had even started, by breaching the security and fighting with stewards and each other. The stewards appear to have been left exposed and I hope that none were injured in what appears to be hand to hand fighting. 19 police officers were reported to have been injured in central London and Wembley.

London Football LINK provided the following account this morning:

Arriving at the stadium four hours before kick off it was already clear that the atmosphere, so positive and overwhelmingly friendly up to this point in the tournament, was turning dark.

Instead of spraying beer, unopened cans and bottles were being thrown into crowds. One man near the corner towards Wembley Arena was receiving medical attention after being struck by a missile.

There were two pressure points in terms of forced entries, both entrances just off Wembley Way attacked a little after 6pm. You will have all seen the videos by now - of people breaking through a gate and people already inside trying to force them out, of people fighting over seats inside.

Throughout the game the gangways in the north side of the stadium were jammed with bodies that should not have been there. Several Italians ended up standing on an overcrowded platform intended for wheelchair users because their seats had been occupied. They were eventually relocated elsewhere.

Even deep in extra time there were arguments over people in seats meant for others, the stewards still powerless to do anything and the only police officers in sight protecting the perimeter of the pitch because, well, above all the show must go on.

Outside the Met’s presence appeared greater but still insufficient as they sought to stop any other intruders. Leaving a little after midnight there was a team of dogs with their handlers departing, and rows of officers in riot gear standing amid the broken glass, empty cans and supermarket bags for life as a couple of thousand fans continued to loiter, predominantly in a daze.

There are a host of questions for the local organising committee, the police and security staff to answer. Had they not foreseen this happening? Why were there so few stewards to deal with the mayhem? Why was there not a wider perimeter placed around Wembley to keep ticketless fans further away? Why did the response seem reactive rather than proactive?

Communication, too, was an issue. A stadium spokesperson initially said that no supporter had successfully breached security but that was evidently false as dozens could be seen forcing their way through the turnstiles with ticket holders.

The only seats that appeared empty come kick off appeared to be in the corporate areas and looking at how overcrowded some sections of the stadium was it does not feel a stretch to say it was actually at full 90,000 capacity.

 There is a multi-agency security committee for Wembley Park and Wembley events including the police, Brent Council, Wembley Stadium, Football Association and Quintain.  They will need to consider what went wrong and what needs to be in place in the future to both protect fans and staff as well as the many local residents now accommodated in flats around the stadium.  It is true as some commented on Twitter that residents bought or rented flats knowing that they were next to the national stadium, but they also deserve to be protected from mismanagement of events.

Brent Council has been asked for a comment.


Tuesday 22 June 2021

EURO 2020: England v Czech Republic information for tonight's game

 From Brent Council

The England v Czech Republic game at Wembley Stadium at 8pm on Tuesday, 22 June will come under the government's Events Research Programme. 

Brent Council is once again working closely with its partners to ensure this Friday's game runs as smoothly and safely as possible. Ticketholders should check the UEFA website for the latest information.

COVID-19 Testing:

We're asking residents to please avoid visiting the COVID-19 testing site at Brent Civic Centre on match day, with the area likely to be busy. Alternative testing sites can be found on our interactive map.

Ticketholders must show either a Negative Lateral Flow Test or proof of full vaccination to be allowed entry to Wembley Stadium.

Parking and traffic:

Event Day parking restrictions will be in force on match days, and residents should make sure their permit is up-to-date/displayed. An email will be sent out to permit holders in the Controlled Parking Zone reminding them of this. Please do not travel to Wembley if you don't have a ticket for Friday's game. Extensive road closures will be in place around the stadium on the day of the match.

Ticketholders are being encouraged to travel by public transport or coach and Wembley Stadium will not provide parking for private vehicles during the event, except accessible parking. Nearby street parking is reserved for local residents and businesses. See here for Brent's parking restrictions on stadium event days.

Friday 11 June 2021

Brent Council asks residents to limit indoor mixing and get vaccinated as Delta variant rates rise in the borough on eve of Euros. Avoid booking Covid19 test at Civic Centre on match days.

 

Please do not travel to Wembley unless you have a ticket for Sunday’s game. We are asking residents to avoid booking COVID-19 testing at Brent Civic Centre on match day. Alternative testing sites can be found on our interactive map. Ticketholders should check the UEFA website for the latest information.

BBC information earlier this week: