Stage safety: An ill wind rocks the outdoor event world.

- Recent tragedies abroad, where inadequate staging has failed to withstand the force of nature, raise doubts about where some people's priorities lie.

'All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players,' a moderately talented individual once wrote, quill in hand, hairline racing away from the eyebrows.

As beloved as he may be, Shakespeare's assertion is somewhat rejected by the event industry, which believes that yes, all the world is potentially a stage, but if you want to really show talent, best build something on which it can perform.

Unlike much of the industry, the outdoor festival sector is in boomtown It has been well documented that the UK festival market is overstocked, but head into Europe and the United States and the pattern is repeated. It would appear that Mr and Miss 2011 want to spend disposable cash (and a lot of it) camping in fields. Brands, meanwhile, are gagging to be associated with the carefree festival-goer and are paying handsomely for the privilege, and the event industry is mopping up the cash in exchange for toilets, trackway and great big tents.

However, for all the positivity, the …