OVERALL OBJECTIVE

The Saint-Denis Convention is the only binding international legal instrument that establishes institutional cooperation between all relevant public and private stakeholders involved in the organisation of sports events.

The Convention promotes an integrated multiagency approach based on three interdependent and overlapping pillars: safety, security and service. These three areas are interrelated and therefore need to be balanced and not designed or implemented in isolation.

As most of the knowledge and expertise developed by member states so far concern the security pillar, it is now important to reinforce the other two pillars (safety and service), to achieve the necessary balance.
The project will therefore assist public authorities and other stakeholders in the strengthening and harmonisation of policies in the field of safety, security and service at sports events in Europe, as well as their effective implementation.
In order to achieve this overall objective, the project will promote the standards of the Saint-Denis Convention, in particular its integrated approach. with a view to supporting its implementation in each of its interrelated dimensions in a balanced manner.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
The project will develop specific objectives to:

  • Carry out information collection and analysis, at the national and European levels, on existing safety and service arrangements and good practices, in the fields of the promotion of safer infrastructures, inclusion, diversity, accessibility and non-discrimination at sports venues;
  • Support the exchange of knowledge and expertise between a series of relevant stakeholders on the above mentioned topics; 
  • Deliver tailored guidance. awareness-raising and training/capacity-building activities in a multilateral manner, as well as awareness-raising materials to the CoE member States; and
  • Media and communication activities, such as press releases and press conferences, a dedicated website on the project, and presence on social media.

All deliverables will contribute to more effective national policies and greater awareness-raising of the importance of having safer, healthier, more inclusive, accessible, diverse and equal sports venues, for the sake of the protection and respect for fundamental human rights and civil liberties of spectators and other participants at sports events, across Europe.
These specific objectives of the project are in line with the Saint-Denis Committee’s Policy Strategy 2021-2025, in particular its Goal 2 - “Promote the implementation of the Saint-Denis Convention through focused policy advice:

  • Establish a system to identify priority areas for the work of the Committee of the Saint-Denis Convention aiming at balancing the three pillars (Safety, Security and Service);
  • Ensure that the human rights, hate speech, anti-racism and anti-discrimination dimensions are streamlined in any standards-setting work of the Committee of the Saint-Denis Convention.”

By assisting public authorities and concerned stakeholders in the strengthening and harmonisation of policies in the field of safety. security and service at sports events in Europe, as well as their effective implementation, the overall expected outcome of the work will be to make sports events safer, more secure, more inclusive and more welcoming, where all individuals feel the magic of the sport moments and without being worried by safety issues or by spectator misbehaviour or violence.