Yellow alert does not cancel concerts and festivals: the Ministry of Culture has issued safety rules

The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine has approved recommendations for holding mass cultural and entertainment events during the yellow level of air attack threat. This level by itself does not automatically require canceling, postponing, or stopping an event.

The organizer may hold the event or continue it if the necessary safety conditions are provided. Visitors, participants, and staff must have access to a shelter sized for the required number of people.

Before the event starts organizers must identify the shelter and the route to it, check its capacity, ensure free evacuation exits, and appoint those responsible for monitoring the security situation.

People should be informed in advance about the location of the nearest shelter, the route to it, and the procedures in case the threat level changes. This information is recommended to be posted on websites, social networks and messengers, on tickets, information stands, screens, and QR codes.

During the yellow level each visitor can decide for themselves to leave the event and go to a shelter. The organizer must provide such an opportunity and, if necessary, assist people in moving.

At the red level of threat the event is not held if it has not yet started. If the red level is declared during an event, it is stopped, attendees are informed about the nearest shelter, and the transfer of people to it is organized.

Separate rules apply to concerts, festivals, fairs and other open-air events. Organizers must assess shelters’ capacity, distance to them, the throughput of routes, and the ability to quickly move all people without dangerous crowding.

If quick access for all participants to a shelter cannot be arranged, holding an outdoor event during the yellow threat level is not recommended.

At the heart of these recommendations are people’s lives and health. Organizers must prepare a clear action plan in advance, ensure access to shelters, and promptly inform visitors about the threat level, — said Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy — Minister of Culture Tetyana Berezhna.

The document also defines how to act in case of postponement, resumption or cancellation of an event, including regarding ticket use. When making a decision, organizers are recommended to take into account the duration of the air raid alert, the curfew, public transport operation, and the ability to safely get home.

For comparison, during the yellow threat level classes in schools are stopped, and students and staff move to shelters. If the institution has an equipped shelter, lessons may continue there.

Earlier we wrote:

• Yellow alert stops lessons: when schools are allowed to hold classes in shelters
• Children “on top of each other”: Sienkevych finally ordered to inspect school shelters after parents’ complaints
• Yellow or red: Mykolaiv region changed the format of air raid alerts
• In Mykolaiv they cancelled the mass celebration of City Day due to the threat of Russian attacks
• Concerts, sports and youth in the courtyards: Mykolaiv aims to revive through cultural events