by Rachelle de Bretagne

Created on: May 05, 2009   Last Updated: May 16, 2009

There have been many ingenious methods which journalists have employed to estimate crowd sizes over the years, though many boil down to guesswork, backed up by figures produced by local authorities or event organizers. Even police figures are used to determine crowd size, though how can a journalist decide upon the correct figures to use when reporting on an event of huge proportions?

*Concerts and musical events.

*Riots and demonstrations.

*Spectacles

*Sporting events.

*Public mourning.

Concerts and musical events.

It is likely that outdoor musical events will attract more people than have bought tickets. While figures can easily be gleaned from the organizers, this should include those members of the public who will just turn up in the hope of buying tickets.

If you look at past events such as Woodstock or the famous Isle of Wight concerts, the percentage of people arriving for these events could never be estimated in advance. What made the figures more authentic was the observance of those outside the set arenas, and adding these as a proportion. Another means of establishing figures is to ask the police, since they will be aware of increased traffic to a given venue.

Riots and demonstrations.

While estimates are easily gleaned from authorities, these are rarely accurate. Attending the event in person and reporting upon it becomes easier when you judge the amount of people on the scene. No-one is going to count heads, though local police and officials will be able to tell you whether the stated figures expected have been exceeded and by how much.

Often the quantity of people is judged by estimation which is inaccurate and a journalist needs to find some kind of accurate measure which will reflect the size of the demonstration and strength of attendance in terms of ambiance, controllability and police expectations. These figures can also be determined if the journalist is able to see footage of the event, and estimate the area in which the event took place, and use a mean average number of heads per square meter.

Spectacles.

A crowd gathering for a well known spectacle will be easier to estimate. Tickets will have been sold and will be for sale. Organizers will be only too happy to divulge ticket sales and expectations, plus having to provide adequate insurance cover for those attending will have set parameters to work within. Talk with organizers to establish the number of paying spectators, and then gage the area outside of the paying area

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