Major international events, such as sporting tournaments, cultural/social/religious events and conferences present policing and security challenges. Host countries are faced with the challenge of organizing a smooth-running and successful event while keeping participants and spectators safe.
The security, safety and service topics that host countries face are both criminal and crowd protection related: terrorism, crowd management, cyber threats, human trafficking, sports integrity, public safety, and many others.
Through its current mandate of a 10+ year project funded by the government of Qatar, Project Stadia has established a “centre of excellence” to support member countries in the planning and execution of security and safety arrangements when hosting major international events, including sporting events.
Project Stadia comprises three main elements:
A state-of-the-art capabilities team
Specific groups address the needs of host countries on a range of topics such as international police cooperation; sport safety and security; sport legislation; cybersecurity and communications. Observation and debriefing programmes bring lessons learned to host countries.
An international network of experts
This network comprises some 400 major event security experts from 70 countries who provide expertise and facilitate support and cooperation on major international event policing and security. In addition, certified training programmes and workshops are provided to host countries.
A worldwide information hub
The Stadia Knowledge Management System (SKMS) provides a comprehensive knowledge repository on security in major sporting events, populated by the information generated through many of our activities.
It acts as an online networking platform for experts in the field to share, discuss, publish and analyze the evolving aspects of major event safety and security.
The Joint Task Force
Our Joint Task Force coordinates - via Project Stadia - all INTERPOL's support to major events where we deploy a support team.
The JTF assists host member countries in their preparation, coordination, and implementation of security measures for major events. It consolidates all of INTERPOL’s capabilities and services into a single point of entry for the event.
First implemented for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the JTF was deployed again for the 2024 Asian Football Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.
2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games
Our Joint Task Force (JTF) is supporting the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games through Project Stadia. it is coordinating all INTERPOL assets to deliver a comprehensive intelligence package to Paris law enforcement officials.
Additionally, the JTF is assisting with the coordination of the International Police Cooperation Center, contributing to daily intelligence and operational briefings, and providing daily reporting and final debriefing/lessons learned reports.
Legacy of learning
Project Stadia was set up to contribute to policing and security arrangements for the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ in Qatar.
Since then, Project Stadia has run international expert groups, delivered certified training, and created a global knowledge-sharing programme to help all INTERPOL member countries build their capacity during the full planning lifecycle of a major event.
The project was extended for a further two years to bring its expertise to the preparations for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
This will build a lasting legacy of learning, and will support future host countries across the world in creating the environment for safe and secure major events.
Activities
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