Project · Venue & Stadium Technology · Team experience

Crowd management with live headcount

Live headcount from the stadium's cameras, counting only with no face recognition, shown on the 3D twin so authorities see how every area fills and clear queues at the gates before they grow.

ForStadium authorities and operations teams
DataCamera headcount, turnstiles and ticket sales
PrivacyCounting only, no face recognition
Part ofThe command and control platform
The story

A match day, from the first fans to the last-minute rush

Scroll through one match day on the stadium twin. A simplified, illustrative view of the approach.

  1. Counting, not identifyingCameras across the bowl count heads in their section. Nobody is identified; only the numbers are kept.
  2. Filling against the usual curveAs kick-off nears, every section fills in colour. One runs behind its usual curve and is flagged early.
  3. Too full in one areaDuring the match one area goes past its comfortable level, and the team sees it before it becomes a risk.
  4. A queue at a gateOutside, the headcount at one gate keeps growing, and the time series shows it is a steady queue, not a blip.
  5. Finding the causeRead with the turnstiles, the queue has a clear cause: many fans are at the wrong gate and are being turned away.
  6. Rerouting the crowdFans are guided to the next gate, which can admit them, and the queue clears.
  7. The authorities' viewStadium authorities outside the operations room see live capacity and entries at every gate on their own screen.
  8. Predicting the rushTickets sold for a big match against arrivals so far point to a late surge, so gates and staff are ready before it comes.

The 3D stadium is adapted from “Soccer Stadium” by R-LAB, CC BY 4.0

The challenge

Counting at the gates is not enough

Gate counts say how many people came in, not where they are now, why a queue is growing, or whether a section is filling as it should.

Only half the picture

Turnstile counts stop at the gate. Inside, nobody can see which sections are filling late or getting too full.

A queue has many causes

A crowd arriving at once, fans at the wrong gate or a fault at a turnstile all look the same from far away.

Authorities are not in the room

The people who decide on safety often work outside the operations centre and need the same picture, live.

What we did

Crowds you can see, explain and act on

01

Headcount in every section

Each camera's view is placed on the 3D model, so the counts become live occupancy colours section by section.

02

Filling against the usual curve

Each area is compared with how it normally fills for that stadium and that kind of match, so a late section stands out early.

03

Queues explained, not just seen

Headcount at each gate is read with the turnstiles, so a growing queue comes with its likely cause and a suggestion to reroute.

Results

What it gives

Live

occupancy in every section of the stadium

0

faces recognised: it counts, it does not identify

Per gate

entry curves compared with past matches

Analytics

What the numbers are read against

A high-level view of the signals the analysis brings together.

  • Tickets sold and arrivalsHow many are expected, and how many are already in.
  • Gates and turnstilesCapacity at each gate, and how fast it is admitting fans.
  • Past matchesHow the same stadium filled for the same kind of match.
  • Live countsHeadcount from cameras inside and at the gates.
  • Time windowsFrom two hours before kick-off to the final minutes.
  • Patterns and forecastsData science and AI to spot trends and predict a rush.
The business case

Why it pays back

A high-level view of the value for venue owners, operators and authorities.

  • Safer match daysOvercrowding is seen and acted on before it becomes a risk.
  • Shorter queuesCauses are found quickly, fans are rerouted and every gate keeps moving.
  • Staff where they are neededStewards are placed where the arrival curve says they will be needed.
  • One picture for authoritiesDecision makers outside the control room see the same live numbers.
  • Sharper every matchEach match day makes the next forecast more accurate.
  • Privacy by designCounting only, with no face recognition, which keeps approvals simpler.
Connected projects

Part of a larger programme

Capabilities

What it drew on

Computer vision headcount3D digital twinsReal-time analyticsTime series and forecastingTurnstile integrationData science and AIDashboards for authorities

Turn ambition into results.

Tell us where you want to be. We will show you the fastest way to get there, with the right mix of strategy, technology and AI.