Reddawn Helps Shape AFA’s Festival Blueprint | NSW

Reddawn CEO Simon Auston and National Operations Manager Christophe Galibert have contributed their expertise to Festival Blueprint, a new industry-led resource developed by the Australian Festival Association (AFA) to support safer, more consistent and more sustainable festival delivery across NSW.

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A Resource Built by the People Who Do the Work

Festival Blueprint brings together operational guidance, regulatory information and practical, real-world expertise into a single, accessible platform for the festival sector. It is designed to support everyone involved in planning and delivering a festival, from organisers and promoters through to suppliers, venue operators, councils and regulators.

For Reddawn, being asked to contribute wasn't just an invitation, it was a natural extension of what the team has spent decades doing on the ground: keeping crowds safe at some of Australia's biggest live events.

Simon and Christophe joined the Blueprint as Industry Suppliers and Service Providers, working alongside industry peers James Fidler and Tony Nichol to help develop the Crowd Management chapter. Their contribution draws directly on years of delivering security and event operations across major festivals, stadiums and touring productions nationwide.

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Why This Matters to Reddawn

Reddawn has always believed that good security isn't about ticking a compliance box. It's about genuinely understanding crowds, venues and the people who show up to enjoy themselves, and building operations around keeping everyone safe without getting in the way of a great experience.

That's the same thinking Simon and Christophe brought to the Crowd Management chapter. Rather than abstract theory, the guidance reflects lessons learned from real events: what works, what doesn't, and how crowd safety decisions actually play out when thousands of people are moving through a site.

It's also a chance to give back to an industry that has given Reddawn so much. Festivals are where much of Reddawn's operational expertise has been built, and contributing to a resource that will help the next generation of organisers, suppliers and emerging professionals plan safer events feels like a natural way to invest back into the sector.

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Collaboration Over Competition

Festival Blueprint was developed through extensive engagement across the industry, drawing on contributions from festival organisers, government agencies, regulators, emergency services, accessibility specialists, First Nations advisors, crowd safety specialists and international event experts.

That collaborative, industry-wide approach reflects something Reddawn has long championed: that safer festivals are built through partnership, not competition. Sharing knowledge with peers like James Fidler and Tony Nichol, and with the AFA more broadly, is exactly the kind of community-minded, values-led contribution Reddawn looks to make wherever it can.

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Supporting a Safer, Stronger Festival Sector

While Festival Blueprint has been developed with a focus on NSW, its ambition is bigger: to grow into a nationally recognised framework that lifts standards across the entire Australian festival sector.

Reddawn is proud to have played a part in shaping the Crowd Management chapter, and looks forward to seeing the Blueprint continue to grow as new chapters, resources and training materials are released.

Congratulations to the Australian Festival Association and everyone involved in bringing this important initiative to life.

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Find out more about Festival Blueprint here.