The Pink Bows Foundation, launched after the Astroworld Festival tragedy, is co-producing training events across the world in partnership with leading safety experts
On Nov. 5, 2021, 23-year-old Madison Dubiski was one of 10 concertgoers who lost their lives in the Astroworld Festival tragedy. About 50,000 people gathered at NRG Park in Houston to watch rapper Travis Scott perform when chaos ensued from a crowd crush, resulting in 10 deaths and hundreds of injuries. When a pink bow was placed at the stadium following the event, among flowers and candles honoring the victims, it started a movement: #PinkBowsForMadison.
“Madison’s favorite color was pink, and the bows really took a form of their own. People started putting them out in their yards, on their office buildings and on bridges around Houston, and then that grew to supporters on naval bases and across the pond in Europe, the UK and Africa. It was heartwarming,” Brian Dubiski, Madison’s father, told EM. “I think people were appalled that this happened, and we, searching for something at that time to just grab onto, thought about how we could give our daughter a voice that’s been taken away from her. And thus, we came up with the Pink Bows Foundation.”
Brian and Michelle Dubiski started the foundation in memory of their daughter with the mission to “improve safety standards across the event industry and reduce the occurrence of major injuries and fatalities.” As they began researching to understand how the Astroworld Festival tragedy happened, they sought out experts in event crowd safety management to bring them into the foundation’s aim of ensuring “every crowd returns home safely.”
The Dubiskis connected with Steve Allen, founder and ceo of UK-based Crowd Safety consultancy, and Dr. Mark Hamilton, who served as head of the International Centre for Crowd Management and Security Studies at Buckinghamshire New University. Allen and Hamilton have both spent more than 30 years managing safety and security at major events, with Allen having toured with artists including Oasis, Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Shakira, and Hamilton serving as security director for Paul McCartney’s world tours.
“It was ironic in one respect, because Mark and I were subject matter expert witnesses in the Astroworld case, and so when that all finished up, I was approached by the foundation. My initial response was, ‘Wow, this is a bit of a shock, getting a call now from the parents of Madison,’” Allen says. “I listened with intent, and one of the key drivers for me was the determined passion to make change and work collaboratively with industry, not point fingers—moving forward out of darkness comes light.”
Allen pioneered the Showstop Procedure 25 years ago to simplify and standardize the process of a total stop of concerts and live events. The Showstop Procedure is a fast, coordinated and controlled response to emergency conditions that involves a communication chain and assigned roles and responsibilities among event team members, including performers’ reps, safety coordinators, crowd managers, stage managers, security personnel, promoters, venue management and local authorities.
Allen successfully implemented the Showstop Procedure at 32 shows and designed a course around it for the Pink Bows Foundation with Hamilton and professor Chris Kemp of Mind Over Matter Consultancy Ltd. The Showstop Procedure course was approved by the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management and CPD.
“Having competent personnel and contractors involved early on is critical for risk mitigation, as well as sufficient resources, risk assessments, crowd management plans, tests, pre-event safety checks, and ongoing monitoring through CCTV, drones, staff in elevated positions and social media,” Allen says. “However, when an undesirable occurrence does happen—whether it’s lightning, a fire, active shooter, terrorism or a crowd-related incident—we need to have an emergency stop to regain control for the safety of our audience and employees who are involved. The key to it is the decisiveness because seconds count.”
On Wednesday, Pink Bows Foundation hosted the inaugural, fully booked Showstop Procedure training and certification event at The Post Oak Hotel in Houston, which brought together festival organizers, venue managers, promoters, safety specialists, risk managers and insurers.
“It was very important to the foundation to have the first course in Houston; it would have been inappropriate to do it anywhere else,” Allen says. “For us, the speed at which the first course sold out was incredible. That is a testament to the interest and the fact that the industry always wants to evolve and learn new things.”
Last month, Allen and Hamilton drummed up excitement for the Showstop Procedure with a presentation at the International Live Music Conference in London. The next course will take place in Southampton, England, on April 16, and it’s already sold out.
“This is just one facet of what we’re trying to accomplish. We recognized a void and a need, and wanted to put all of our resources behind it,” Dubiski says.
In addition to training and certification, the foundation created Pink Bows Safe Spaces—quiet, temperature-controlled areas where attendees who may be feeling anxious, overwhelmed or uneasy at events can relax and get support from trained mental health advocates and volunteers. Safe Spaces will be available at Bayou City Art Festival in Houston this weekend and at Tacos and Tequila Festival at Sam Houston Race Park next month.
The foundation also continues Madison’s passion for serving her community by supporting children who are battling cancer and individuals and families with special needs. In partnership with the Cy-Fair Educational Foundation, the Pink Bows Foundation awards yearly scholarships to student leaders committed to community service, and it funds scholarships for students pursuing undergraduate degrees in risk management and crowd safety.
“If we save a life, if we save a group from being injured, if we’re able to put an end to some of the issues that can cause harm, then we’re doing the best we can, putting our best foot forward and trying to impede that type of end result through the planning side and the educational side,” Dubiski says. “For us, as a foundation and family, I can’t think of a better way to honor our daughter and give her a legacy and a voice. I think she would be proud of what we’re doing, and there’s a driving force behind our commitment to making events in the world a better place.”
Photos: Courtesy of the Pink Bows Foundation
