Webinar with China on Nuclear Security Measures for Major Public Events — Considerations and Lessons Learned from Global MPEs

Date and Time

Tuesday, 22 December 2021

09:30 Beijing (China) time

Duration: 2 hours

Background

A Major Public Event (MPE) is a national or international event, and requires the implementation of a security plan. An MPE is characterized by the presence of a large number of people and may be a political summit, a religious gathering or a sporting contest.

MPEs draw great public interest and can receive intense media attention. This makes the events attractive venues for demonstrations, protests or even violence. One particular area of concern relates to organizations or individuals that might use these events to stage criminal acts or acts of terrorism. Such events present complex security challenges for a host State and have nuclear security implications.

Levels of security and surveillance at MPEs have steadily increased in recent years, primarily to protect the public from the threat of criminal or terrorist acts by deterring such acts through an increased presence of visible security and law enforcement personnel, and the implementation of strong monitoring procedures (i.e., metal detectors, x-ray scanners, explosives detectors). In this context, nuclear security systems and measures need to be applied at MPEs and integrated into the overall security plan.

This webinar is organized jointly by the IAEA and the China Atomic Energy Authority, an IAEA Collaborating Centre for Nuclear Security Technologies (2019-2023).

Objectives

The webinar aims to provide an overview of the nuclear security measures for MPEs based on practical experience from Member States, which previously hosted large scale, global MPEs, such as Olympic Games and FIFA Football tournaments. In addition, during the webinar the challenges and opportunities in developing, implementing, and sustaining nuclear security measures for such global MPEs will be discussed.