"Things could have gone very wrong" – Crowd safety expert sheds light on Fatboy Slim beach party in new Sky documentary

Dr Chris Cocking was working that day at the Big Beach Boutique II event on 13 July 2002 as a 'crowd density spotter', assisting event managers with maintaining crowd safety. The free event was initially planned for 60,000 people but over 250,000 turned up on Brighton beach by early afternoon. Chris's experience that day, and its impact on him and others, changed the way UK events were subsequently run.

Today, Chris is a principal lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Brighton. He regularly advises organisations from across the public and private sectors involved in emergency planning and response.

On that day just over twenty years ago, Chris played a vital role in keeping people safe at what has become known as the biggest outdoor party the UK has even seen. Now, he has been able to share his experience of that night – and how it inspired his return to academia to study crowd emergency management – for a new Sky documentary, Fatboy Slim: Right Here, Right Now.

Dr Chris Cocking said: "The crowd that came together on 13 July 2002 was more than four times bigger than expected, doubling the population of Brighton & Hove at a stroke. It was an incredible sight to behold and amazing to have been a part of it - but I do still look back and think about how easily things could have gone very wrong.

"I was working that day as a crowd density spotter for a friend's local stewarding company. It's a role that was created following recommendations from the 1989 Hillsborough football disaster, when it was recognised that it's far better to take a proactive approach to crowd management and address possible safety issues before they become dangerous.

"From my position by the sound desk at the front of the stage, my role was to monitor the crowd and report over the radio any problems in crowd build-up or other safety issues so that they could be addressed in good time. While the local infrastructure - toilets, shops, cafes, public transport - simply couldn't cope with the sheer numbers of people, my colleagues and I did our best to work with partygoers to try and keep them and their friends safe. By adopting what we call a facilitative rather than a coercive approach, I’m convinced we helped avert disaster.

Fatboy Slim

"My experience that day confirmed for me that crowd behaviour is not inherently irrational, and it was a major inspiration behind my decision to go back into academia to study crowd emergency management. I'm really pleased to have been involved in the documentary, to share my personal experiences of the day and my perceptions of the event since."

Filmmaker Jak Hutchcraft said: "Chris was an important addition to the film. Not only does he have intense first-hand experience of the day but he also had a unique perspective from his role as a 'density spotter' employed to keep people safe.

"As a now leading expert in social psychology and crowd behaviour, Chris's contributions are as erudite and considered as they are vivid and personal. I'm so grateful to have Chris in the documentary. He really helped me tell the full story of what happened on that day, not just the good times."

Fatboy Slim: Right here, Right Now

A synopsis of the film reads: “Now, 20 years on, Norman, and those who were on the front line of this seismic historical moment, talk us through the process and the obstacles; the immense difficulties and struggles that the local police faced with such an unexpected amount of descendants on the city, the councillors and residents that opposed the controversial event and many of those who participated in what Norman has described as a ‘Woodstock moment’."

Speaking about the film, Fatboy Slim aka Norman Cook said: “It has been wonderful with the fullness of time and some hindsight, to revisit such a seismic event in both mine and my hometown’s history. Warts and all, the story told in full. Watch, sleep, rave, repeat.”

Fatboy Slim: Right Here Right Now can be seen on Sky Documentaries and NOW from 4 February at 10pm.