Launching The Service Playbook: A New GCMA Series on Services

Today, Global Crowd Management Alliance® (GCMA) is delighted to launch The Service Playbook, a new, publicly accessible series focused on Services: the attendee-facing, on-the-ground function that plays a critical role alongside Safety and Security in shaping both operational effectiveness and crowd experience.

The series is authored and led by Thyr Rodrigues, a GCMA board member and an experienced practitioner whose career spans delivery, planning, and strategic roles across major international sporting and live events. Thyr has led spectator and service operations at some of the world’s largest events and brings a perspective grounded in real-world delivery, multi-agency coordination, and applied research.

The Service Playbook is designed for professionals already active in crowd management and event operations. It does not revisit fundamentals. Instead, it offers structured, practice-led frameworks that can be adapted to different environments and event types.

Chapter One, Scope of Services, sets out a practical starting point for organisations to clearly define the scope of their own Services, what is delivered, where, and for whom. This first chapter establishes the foundation for the series, with future chapters released fortnightly, each building on the last and exploring how Services are planned, resourced, and delivered as an integrated operational pillar.

In line with GCMA’s mission to educate, advocate, and motivate across the wider industry, The Service Playbook is being made publicly accessible and free of charge. The intention is to raise understanding and consistency of practice well beyond the Alliance’s membership.

The launch comes one week ahead of the Global Crowd Management Congress (3–5 February 2026), a member-exclusive online event bringing together professionals from around the world to explore current challenges and emerging approaches in crowd management. Thyr Rodrigues will be speaking on Day Two, in a session examining how the Saint-Denis Convention translates from policy into operational practice.

Non-members are invited to join GCMA to access the Congress and the Alliance’s wider programme of learning and collaboration. To support global participation, GCMA operates a Parity Pricing Programme for membership, adjusting fees based on local purchasing power so that professionals can engage on fair and equitable terms, regardless of geography.

📘 Read Chapter One: Scope of Services, here
🔗 Apply for GCMA membership, here
🔗 Learn more about our Parity Pricing Programme, here

We hope you find the series useful in your own work and welcome your engagement with the wider conversation over the coming weeks and months.

GCMA Focal Point: AI and Mass Communications

In case you missed it, we’ve made the recording of our recent special edition of GCMA’s Focal Point available to everyone, regardless of membership status. Tune on as the amazing G. Keith Still walks us through the use (and misuse) of AI in crowd safety planning and communications.

You can take part in all of our Focal Point sessions by joining the GCMA today. Sign up now here.

ICYMI: The Control Room Partner Edition

In case you missed it, we’ve made the recording of our first The Control Room: Partner Edition of 2025 available on demand. Listen in as we discuss the evolving weather threats, drones, hostile vehicle mitigation, and more.

You can take part in all of our monthly member-exclusive Control Room sessions by joining the GCMA today. Sign up now here.