Event Safety Alliance (ESA), a non-profit safety trade association, appointed a veteran crowd management and event safety consultant.
To further its international expansion efforts, ESA brought on Jon (J.C.) Corbishley as chair of its new affiliate, ESA Australia. Corbishley will oversee the operations of ESA Australia and serve as the organization’s primary delegate within the region.
“Many in the Australian event industry were among the first to recognize and support the ESA’s mission, including Jon Corbishley,” said Jim Digby, president and executive director, ESA. “He has actively promoted the cause of safety throughout his career, and we’re proud to have him lead the ESA’s expansion into Australia.”
Corbishley has been planning and managing safety at mass gatherings in the UK and Europe since the 1980s. He has worked with most major touring artists at festivals, venues and sports from Live Aid at Wembley Stadium to Michael Jackson at the first 100,000-capacity concert in Brunei. He was appointed to take charge of crowd management for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in London attended by 1.6 million and was co-author of the strategic plan for European Capital of Culture events.
“I’m delighted to be part of the international initiative to improve life safety at events,” said Corbishley. “Building upon the excellent update to the guidance from the U.S. and Europe, the Australian group will work toward making safety standards for our industry truly global.”
A qualified crowd manager, Corbishley ran safety workshops for the Indian Premiere League cricket organizers and trained more than 2,000 London nightclub doormen. He is currently safety consultant to Sydney’s Allphones Arena, college lecturer on event safety and represents The Event Safety Shop in the Australasia region, providing safety advice to touring productions.
