Staying Safe at Events
9 min read Article Updated 2026-03-14
Planning Your Journey to Stay Safe at Events
Organising your travel home before you leave the house prevents dangerous situations later. Late-night transport options disappear quickly after midnight. Book a licensed minicab through a reputable local firm or schedule an Uber, Bolt, or FreeNow in advance. Never get into an unbooked minicab off the street. Only black cabs can pick up unbooked passengers legally. Unlicensed vehicles carry no insurance and pose a severe risk to your safety.
Check the last train or bus times for your route before you buy your event tickets. Transport for London operates the Night Tube on Friday and Saturday nights on the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly, and Victoria lines. Outside London, local bus services rarely run past midnight, leaving you reliant on expensive taxis. Factor the cost of a taxi into your budget before you commit to attending.
Always travel with trusted friends. Nominate one person to manage the group’s transport home and collect money upfront. Keep enough money in your account to cover a surge-priced taxi fare. Fares often double when clubs close due to high demand.
Save the number of a local, university-approved taxi firm in your phone during freshers’ week.
If you must walk, stick to well-lit, busy main roads. Avoid parks, alleyways, and unlit paths entirely. Walk confidently and keep your phone out of sight to deter thieves. Wearing headphones reduces your situational awareness. Keep one earbud out so you can hear approaching vehicles or footsteps behind you.
Protecting Yourself Against Drink Spiking at Student Events
Drink spiking involves adding alcohol or drugs to someone’s drink without their consent. It happens at house parties, pubs, and nightclubs. Criminals also use needles to inject drugs directly into victims in crowded spaces, known as needle spiking.
Never leave your drink unattended. Take it with you to the toilet or the smoking area. If you lose sight of your glass, buy a new one. Cover your glass with your hand or ask the bar staff for a protective lid. Many student union bars provide foil covers or “Spikeys” that fit into the neck of a bottle.
Spiking does not just involve illegal drugs. Adding double shots to a drink when someone asked for a single is also a crime. Watch the bartender pour your drink. Do not accept drinks from strangers unless you stand at the bar and watch the drink being made.
Recognise the signs of spiking in yourself and your friends. Symptoms include confusion, nausea, loss of balance, visual problems, and sudden unexplained drunkenness. A scratch or a small bruise could indicate needle spiking. If a friend suddenly appears disproportionately drunk, assume someone spiked them.
Drugs pass through the system quickly, so report suspected spiking to venue staff and the police immediately to allow for forensic testing.
Only 23% of victims report spiking to the police according to the Drinkaware 2025 Monitor. The primary reason victims hesitate is memory loss, but reporting the incident helps police identify patterns. If you suspect spiking, inform the venue management immediately. They have a duty of care to assist you and secure CCTV evidence. Go to the nearest A&E department and tell the triage nurse you suspect someone spiked your drink.
Using ‘Ask for Angela’ for Staying Safe at Events
The ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign operates in pubs, bars, and clubs across the UK. It offers a discreet way to ask venue staff for help if you feel unsafe, vulnerable, or threatened. You simply go to the bar and ask to speak to Angela.
Staff trained in the scheme know this is a code word for help. They will take you to a private area away from the person causing you distress. They can call you a taxi, contact your friends, or call the police if necessary. Use this scheme if a Tinder date acts aggressively, a stranger refuses to leave you alone, or you feel separated from your group and vulnerable.
Look for ‘Ask for Angela’ posters in venue toilets. However, be aware that implementation varies across the hospitality sector. A November 2024 BBC undercover investigation found that 13 out of 25 London venues failed to respond correctly to the code word. Do not rely entirely on the scheme. If staff do not understand the code word, state clearly that you feel threatened and need them to call a taxi or the police immediately.
If a venue does not operate the scheme, locate a female member of staff or a licensed door supervisor and explain your situation directly.
Familiarise yourself with the security layout when you enter a new venue. Locate the exit routes and note where the door staff stand. Door supervisors hold Security Industry Authority licences and possess training in conflict management and safeguarding. Approach them if you need immediate physical separation from an aggressive individual. They have the authority to eject problematic patrons and secure the premises until the police arrive.
Managing Group Safety at Nightlife Events
Staying together is the most effective way to prevent incidents on a night out. Establish a buddy system before you leave your student accommodation. Pair up and take responsibility for your assigned partner throughout the night. Never let your buddy go to the toilet, the bar, or the smoking area alone.
Create a dedicated WhatsApp group for the event. Share your live locations within this chat for eight hours. If someone gets separated, you can track their exact position. Set a designated meeting point inside the venue in case you lose phone signal or run out of battery. Choose a specific, well-lit landmark like the cloakroom or the main DJ booth.
Thick walls and crowded networks in underground clubs frequently block mobile data signals.
Agree on a strict “no one left behind” policy. If one person wants to go home early, someone else must accompany them. Never put an intoxicated friend in a taxi alone. Ride with them to their door and ensure they get inside safely. If you split the fare, use a bills splitter tool the next morning rather than arguing over cash at the end of the night.
Look out for changes in your friends’ behaviour. If someone becomes unusually aggressive, tearful, or unresponsive, intervene immediately. Move them to a quieter, cooler area of the venue and offer them water. If they lose consciousness, place them in the recovery position and call 999. Do not attempt to walk them home or put them to bed to “sleep it off”. Check their breathing constantly while you wait for the ambulance.
What to Do in an Emergency at Large Events
Large events like music festivals or warehouse raves present unique safety challenges. Crowd crushes, medical emergencies, and fires require immediate, decisive action.
If you find yourself in a dense, surging crowd, keep your hands up by your chest like a boxer to protect your ribcage and maintain breathing space. Do not resist the force of the crowd. Move diagonally towards the edge of the mass during lulls in the pushing. If you drop your phone or bag, leave it. Bending down in a crowd crush is fatal.
If a fire alarm sounds, evacuate immediately. Do not finish your drink. Do not go to the cloakroom to retrieve your coat. Follow the illuminated green exit signs, not necessarily the door you entered through. Venue staff will direct you to the nearest emergency exit.
In a medical emergency, send one person to find a medic or a member of staff while another stays with the patient. Give the staff member a precise location. Use the What3Words app to generate a three-word coordinate for your exact position. This is highly effective in large outdoor spaces like festival campsites.
| Emergency Contact | When to Use | Number to Call |
|---|---|---|
| Police / Ambulance | Immediate threat to life or crime in progress | 999 |
| Non-Emergency Police | Reporting a crime after the fact, like a stolen phone | 101 |
| NHS 111 | Urgent medical advice when it is not a 999 emergency | 111 |
| Campus Security | Incidents occurring on university property | Check student ID |
If you witness a fight or a serious assault, do not intervene physically. You risk serious injury. Stand back, take note of the attackers’ descriptions, and alert security or call the police.
Essential Apps and Tools for Staying Safe at Events
Technology provides several layers of security when you attend events. Download and configure these applications before you leave your flat.
Hollie Guard turns your smartphone into an advanced personal safety device. If you feel threatened, shaking your phone activates a high-pitched alarm and a flashing strobe light. It automatically records audio and video evidence, saving it to a secure cloud server. It also sends your exact GPS location to your designated emergency contacts.
Life360 allows your flatmates to track your journey home in real time. It alerts the group when you arrive at your destination safely. It also detects car crashes and can dispatch emergency services to your location automatically.
Constant location sharing drains your phone battery quickly, so bring a fully charged portable power bank on your night out.
Set up Medical ID on your iPhone or Emergency Information on your Android device. Input your blood type, allergies, and emergency contact numbers. First responders can access this information from your lock screen without needing your passcode.
Always carry a physical debit card and a £20 note hidden in your phone case or shoe. If your phone dies or gets stolen, you lose access to Apple Pay and Google Wallet. Physical cash ensures you can still pay for a taxi or a bus ticket home. Ensure your bank account has sufficient funds by managing your cash flow through our student money hub.
For more advice on managing your lifestyle and budgeting for safe nights out, visit the student life section on unisorted.co.uk.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I report a spiked drink?
Alert venue staff immediately so they can secure the drink and check CCTV. Go to the nearest A&E for medical assessment and forensic testing. Call 101 to report the crime to the police, or 999 if you are in immediate danger.
What should I do if my phone is stolen on a night out?
Borrow a friend’s phone to call your network provider and block your SIM card immediately. Use another device to log into your iCloud or Google account and remotely lock or erase your stolen phone. Report the theft to the police via 101 to get a crime reference number for your insurance claim.
Are university campus bars safer than public nightclubs?
Campus bars generally offer tighter security and strict student-only entry policies. Student unions also train their staff specifically in student welfare and safeguarding. However, drink spiking and harassment still occur on campus, so you must remain vigilant.
Can door staff legally search my bag?
Door supervisors cannot force you to submit to a search. However, venues have the right to make a bag search a condition of entry. If you refuse the search, the door staff can legally deny you entry to the premises.
