An investigation into the effect the terrorist threat and counter-measures have on the safety concerns of attendees at public events

How much consideration do people give to possible threats to their safety when attending a public event (such as a concert, a theatre show, a festival, or a parade), especially in light of the rising number of terrorist attacks against such events in recent years? How important is it for them to see security and safety measures are in place to protect them? Does the visible presence of these measures make people feel safer or do they actually make them feel more anxious and worried about being harmed? While there is plenty of material available about the need to protect people from risks to their health and safety and what measures can be put in place with these goals in mind, there has been little research conducted to determine how effective people view them and how they affect the experience of attending events. To determine the answer to these questions a sample of members of the general public from around the country were questioned with regard to their level of concern from a range of possible threats and how they felt with regard to visible security measures. An analysis of the results suggests that while there is some concern about potential threats to safety, particularly with regard to the possibility of terrorist attacks, people feel that visible security measures make them feel safer yet also have the effect of making them more conscious of the threat