Today marks the 10th anniversary of the devastating 13th November 2015 attacks in Paris, in which the Bataclan concert hall, cafes and bars in the city and the Stade de France stadium at Saint-Denis were targeted, leaving 132 people dead and hundreds injured.

As well as reshaping France's sense of safety and security, that devastating evening forever altered the way in which live-event operators think about risk.

In the UK and elsewhere, music venues immediately reviewed and strengthened their procedures: the O2 Academy Group and other venues in London announced "heightened security procedures" just days after the attack.

Key security measure were implemented as a result:

• Increased intensive access control: bag searches, physical screening and longer queuing times.
• Pre-built in collaboration with local police and security service - venues now often engage formal risk-assessments rather than ad-hoc response.
• Terror-threat planning embedded into venue operations: emergency exit drills expanded to include active-shooter protocols and coordination with external law enforcement.
• A three-month 'état d'urgence' (state of emergency) was declared across France, which included the banning of public demonstrations, allowing the police to carry out searches without a warrant, putting anyone under house arrest without trial and blocking websites that encouraged acts of terrorism.
• Awareness among event promoters and security professionals that the threat for “soft targets” such as concerts, sporting events and public gatherings is elevated.

For organisers and venue operators, the implications of the attack are well-defined:

• Event design now routinely includes perimeter security, secure ingress and egress routes and an assumption of the worst-case threat (though still 'innocent until screened').
• Communications plans: mass-notification, lockdown procedures, rehearsals of 'what if' scenarios.
• Increased use of bollards, controlled vehicle access, CCTV analytics, armed/marked presence in higher-risk venues.
• Staff training: all venue staff knowing how to respond calmly if a threat arises, how to direct crowd movement and how to maintain business continuity post-incident.
• Psychological support and victim liaison as part of venue recovery planning - acknowledging the trauma not just to victims but to staff, patrons and the wider audience.

While no live-event venue can make a 100% safety  guarantee, the industry is far better prepared than it was a decade ago and the memory of the Bataclan attack continues to drive change. As the Paris tenth anniversary reminds us, it’s not just about commemoration but about vigilance: a live-event space is a gathering of many people - and that always changes the risk profile.

On this day, we remember those lost, we honour those who survive and we reaffirm our commitment to safer gatherings.