Safety regulations for open-air events and events in public space

Binding safety requirements apply to open-air events and events in public space. Which regulations apply does not depend on visitor numbers or the name of the event alone.

Location and use are decisive

What matters in particular is the venue, its structural design and the type of use. An open-air concert on a fenced-off site can be assessed differently in law than a town festival on public streets or a Christmas market on a market square.

Assembly venue law outdoors

For permanent outdoor assembly venues with stage areas and grandstands, the assembly venue law of the respective federal state can apply, provided the statutory conditions are met. Among other things, it contains specific requirements for escape and rescue routes, technical installations and safe operation.

Legal bases in public space

For events on public streets and squares, other legal bases often come to the fore instead:

• Road and road traffic law: for example for special use, closures, access routes and traffic regulation.
• Police and public-order law: for averting danger and for event-related orders.
• Building regulations: for example for stages, grandstands and other temporary structures.
• Occupational safety and fire protection law: where the respective statutory conditions are met.

Which permits, notifications or coordination are required differs by federal state and event.

Interactions on public areas

A particular challenge of public event areas is that visitor flows, local residents’ traffic, rescue routes and adjoining uses often interlock. These interactions must be taken into account in security planning.

Scope and general duty

What matters is therefore the distinction between the scope of a specific regulation and the general duty to give appropriate consideration to recognisable hazards.

Conclusion

An event outside a classic assembly venue is by no means automatically exempt from binding safety requirements. For robust planning, the relevant legal bases and the actual conditions of the event area must be considered together.

More on this: Acceptance of an open-air event and responsibility during operation and Binding requirements and professional assessment in event security.

Note: research status 8 November 2026. General orientation; the statements have not been checked against the original regulations and do not include an overview by state. Not legal advice: the respective state law and the conditions in the individual case are decisive; in case of doubt, the competent authorities and specialists decide. No function, response time or certification of MOVETOS OPS is promised.