What happened?
In the trade magazine Protector, Andreas Flemming, Area Sales Director DACH at Genetec Germany, comments in a brief interview on security architecture at major events. The occasion is provided by current large-scale events such as festivals (Rock am Ring, Wacken) as well as international tournaments like the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The central finding: traditional, isolated video surveillance systems are no longer sufficient to meet today's requirements. Instead, the trend is shifting toward integrated security platforms that combine video surveillance, AI-powered analytics, and access control into a shared, real-time situational picture.
The Details
According to Flemming, the complexity of major events has changed structurally. The security perimeter no longer ends at the actual venue—such as a stadium—but also encompasses fan zones, transport infrastructure, and adjacent urban areas. At the same time, demands for international cooperation as well as scalability and coordination across multiple locations are increasing.
A key problem with traditional CCTV systems is that they provide images but not prioritized information. Given today's data volumes, mere observation is no longer sufficient. According to Flemming, the crucial factor is automatically detecting relevant events and placing them in an operational context. Isolated standalone systems quickly reach their limits in this regard.
This is where the concept of an "integrated situational picture" comes in. It means bringing together all security-relevant data in a shared interface—including video data, access events, door status, alarms, and information on visitor flows. According to Flemming, only this kind of integration creates a contextual understanding of the situation that enables well-founded decisions.
AI-powered video analytics takes on the task of filtering relevant patterns out of large volumes of data—such as unusual movements, critical crowd density, or abandoned objects. However, Flemming explicitly emphasizes: AI supports decision-making, but does not replace it.
Access control is also a central building block of the connected security ecosystem. In combination with video and analytics, it creates additional transparency, for example through the verification of access events or the detection of anomalies in movement behavior.
Assessment
For operators and security managers, the message is clear: according to Flemming, the biggest hurdles in integrating solutions from different manufacturers lie less in the technology than in the organization. Different systems, data formats, and areas of responsibility must be brought together—without clear processes and coordinated cooperation, integration remains piecemeal.
This assessment is relevant to the entire security industry, as it demonstrates that technological solutions alone are not enough. Only organizational coordination between different stakeholders—event organizers, security services, authorities—makes a functioning overall system possible.
Also notable is the shift in approach from pure detection toward prevention. Increasingly, the goal is to identify risks early and take targeted countermeasures, for instance in cases of rising crowd density or unusual incidents. At the same time, Flemming makes clear that completely eliminating threats remains unrealistic—but the possibilities for early intervention are significantly better today than in the past.
Practical Tips
- Security concepts for major events should not limit the relevant area solely to the venue itself, but should also account for adjacent zones such as fan areas and transport infrastructure.
- When selecting security technology, it is advisable to look for platforms that can integrate video, access control, and alarm systems into a single shared interface, rather than relying on isolated standalone solutions.
- Organizational processes and clear areas of responsibility should be clarified before technical integration begins, since the real challenge often lies not in the technology itself but in coordinating systems and stakeholders.
- AI-powered analytics should be understood as support for decision-makers—final assessment and decision-making remain the responsibility of security personnel.
Outlook
Looking ahead five to ten years, Flemming identifies three developments that will significantly shape security architecture at major events: more strongly integrated platforms, the growing use of artificial intelligence, and flexible cloud-based or hybrid models. The decisive factor will be linking data meaningfully and making it operationally usable.
For the security industry, this means the focus will continue to shift from pure image surveillance toward data-driven, networked security ecosystems. Providers and operators of security solutions therefore face the task of laying the groundwork—both technologically and organizationally—for closer integration of video surveillance, access control, and AI analytics.
