50th Episode Anniversary Podium Special: Mastering the Crowd: Safety, Trust, and AI in Modern Events - with Morten Therkildsen MSc

What can a Japanese tea ceremony teach us about running safe football matches? Quite a lot, according to operational safety expert Morten Therkildsen.

In this special episode, one of our most downloaded guests returns to share lessons from his work across UEFA tournaments — from the Europa League and Champions League finals to stadium safety projects with clubs like Tottenham Hotspur — as well as Roskilde Festival and beyond.

Highlights from the conversation:

• The tea ceremony lesson: why even after 11 years as a “student,” you never stop learning — and why crowd managers should adopt the same mindset.
• Football vs. festival crowds: why competition changes everything — from how fans arrive, to how they act, to how risks develop.
• The Golem effect: how the way you think about your crowd shapes how they behave.
• The rise of AI in crowd safety: density monitoring, real-time decision support, and why tech should always complement, not replace, human expertise.
• Showstop procedures and prevention: what tragedies like Astroworld reminded the industry about acting before accidents happen.

Morten reminds us that whether it’s 100,000 festival-goers in Denmark or a packed Champions League final in London, operational excellence comes from trust, mindset, and a willingness to always be a student.

👉 Tune in for football insights, remarkable stories, and practical lessons from one of Europe’s most trusted voices in safety and crowd dynamics.