Compare and Contrast: Events of the United Kingdom and

Events of the United States

Independent Study

Morgan Long

Spring 2016
 This study examined what differences, if any, were obvious between cultural and sporting

events in the United Kingdom compared to events in the United States. As an observer and

participator, I attended events in the UK including a football (soccer) game, a festive parade, and

a market. The events ranged from being annual, weekly, and irregular and included crowds from

rather small to very large. The goal in attendance was to observe more than perhaps a regular

attender would and try to understand the behind the scenes side of the event as well as get the

full experience of being an average attender. I used several events that I am familiar with or have

attended in the United States to compare and contrast my findings with. Those events included a

festive parade, a music/beer festival, and a professional American football game which will be

discussed later. With these events as a starting place, I was able to create a spreadsheet with the 5

major categories of event planning strategic communication, leadership, money, operations,

and experience and then from there break the categories down further for more detail and

specific observations. I also added a category for post-event thoughts because I found some ideas

that did not quite fit into the traditional categories but were well worth reporting.

The first event I attended was a football (soccer) game in Southampton, Hampshire,

England against the Southampton Saints and the West Ham United on February 6th, 2016. The

game was originally scheduled for February 8th but when West Ham qualified for the playoffs

their schedule needed to be adjusted. We were notified early enough to change our plans but not

immediately as the email reporting the change came about 36 hours after the game time was

officially changed. Fortunately for us, Southampton won the game with a score of 1-0 at their

home stadium so it was a good time to be a Saints fan. The seats were nice (even in the cheapest
section), the security officers were great, and no drinks were allowed in the seating area so the

stadium was really quite clean and pleasant. The experience was great as the entire stadium of

fans sang Oh When the Saints Go Marching in, their team song. It created a great sense of

belonging and comradery among the diehard fans and the one-timers like myself. Although we

had to go through security when we arrived, it was much less intensive than at professional

sporting events in America. In fact, all they did was open our bags and search them with a hand

scanner and then let us go. In light of recent events in Paris a more intensive system would have

increased the feeling of safety and security during the game. That being said, there were plenty

of security officers to watch the crowds the whole game as well as to keep the home team fans

separated from the away team fans a wise move.

The second event I attended was the Winchester Market on a Sunday in Winchester,

Hampshire. The event included about 30 vendors from all over England selling their vintage and

crafted items, as well as some food vendors. In a beautiful, mostly elderly town like Winchester,

security and safety are not normally a concern because it is such a quiet city. Fortunately for

them, a low crime rate means no need for extra security for a market like this. The police station

is located on the same street as the market, which does help increase the sense of security

anyway. The market draws a crowd from all over Hampshire and the surrounding area, offering

unique crafters, specialty products, and fresh produce and flowers from surrounding farms. The

market runs every day, but this specific theme only runs every other Sunday and it draws the

largest crowds. As the vendors bring their products, tents that are stored every day in a large

wooden container off of High Street are brought out and set up for the vendors to use for the day.

Every vendor has to go through a long process of being approved to have a tent, including

interviews, portfolios, and recommendations through an online forum. Once they are approved,
they get a few days to work each month, always the same day of the week and week of the

month (ex: every first and third Sunday). After talking to some vendors, I learned that it is not

easy to be approved and it is competitive to get a slot. All of the vendors offered something

unique to the table and were experts at their craft. They sold goods of very high quality for their

trade. On a sunny Sunday, there is no better place to be than at the Winchester Market.

The third and final event of the project was the St. Patricks Day Parade at Trafalgars

Square, London. It was a beautiful day and the crowds reflected that: it was very crowded. There

were crowds as far as the eye can see. The most popular place on the parade route was right

where I was: the corner of Trafalgars Square that faces down toward Buckingham Palace. It was

about 40 people deep from the parade route to the back of the crowd, all pushing up to get a

better view. I was fortunate enough to be only about 4 people back from the railing, but I am a

little short for large crowds so my view was a bit obstructed. Two main unexpected aspects I

noticed were the security and the diversity. I would expect to see more Irish people there than

normal because it is a St. Patricks Day Parade in a country very close to Ireland. As I did see

that, I also saw more people from other countries than any other time I was in London. It seemed

like out of all of the languages being spoken around me, English was the minority. I think that

London is obviously a popular destination site, but also coming from America it is difficult to

remember that these people are only as far from their own country as Americans are from other

states so it is much more common to see foreign people. I then realized that I, myself, was one of

those foreign people, so I should not be that surprised. The other aspect was a lack of security. I

saw one member of event staff the whole time I was at that corner, but not one police officer,

which heightened my anxiety a bit in a time when we all should be more cautious around big

crowds. There were security officers off of the parade route (Buckingham Palace, the Prime
Ministers House, the Houses of Parliament) with machine guns, but none that I could see where

the crowds were.

The specific categories of analysis were organized under the concepts of leadership

strategic communication, money, experience, and operations, and then examined in a more

opinionated view of post-event thoughts. Broken down into subcategories, I had a column for

pre-event logistics under strategic communication, staff under leadership, and resources and

spectator cost under money. Under operations, there are columns for trash/environmental impact,

vendors, bathroom facilities, and safety/security. The experience category included entertainment

quality and atmosphere. At the beginning of this process, the subcategories were floating around

not fixed into one of the five elements of event planning. Once they were more organized with

purpose, it allowed me to create better category titles and have logical flow from one category to

the next. The post-event response was added because there were certain elements to the event

that do not necessarily fit perfectly under any category but were important to include. For

example, before heading to England while reflecting the Mummers Day Parade in Philadelphia,

I thought it would be important to include the controversy following the event, but I was not sure

where it would fit best. While attending the events I wanted to immerse myself in the festivities

as much as I could, so I avoided bringing bulky laptops or notebooks. I decided the best way for

me to capture the event would be through my cell phone videos, pictures, and notes in the

notes application. For me, that was the quickest and easiest way to document the process while

still fitting in to the regular crowds. Pictures and videos also helped keep my honest in my

further analysis after the event, by reminding me exactly how things looked as opposed to

relying solely on my notes and memories.

 Below is the immediate response for each event after it happened in its original format:
Color Code: Mummers Parade
Event
The Mummers Parade January 1st 8:00 am -5:00 pm
Southampton vs West Ham
United Football Game
Winchester Market
Soccer Game Market St. Patricks Day Parade
Strategic Communication
Date and Time Pre-event
Very good awareness in the news
(stories on the prep work, etc.)
Easy to find information online
through official sites
Good advice blogs and articles from
locals and city experts
Many local sponsors were
promoting it like the news outlets
Local and large sponsors were used
as funders
February 6th 4:00 pm - 9:00 pm Sports are sort of their own
phenomenon, especially popular
sports with a committed fan base
Because of this, it is less important
to advertise ticket sales-plenty of
people will go to the games
regardless of how much they are
advertised
The website to buy tickets was very
easy to use and straight forward
I was able to pick my seat and print
my ticket at home
The biggest dilemma pre-game was
that the date was changed due to
playoff dates and we found out
because we were following the
teams - they didnt send an email
with the date change until almost 24
hours after it was officially posted
on the website
I think that since the game was less
than a week away at that time, this
was too late to let us know when
they knew sooner (we got an email
on a Monday and the game was on
Saturday but they knew Sunday
morning)
February 21st, 9:00 am 6:00 pm There is a different attitude in
England about Markets than in the
US. When you ask around, it is
 generally just assumed that if you
are walking downtown in a small
town or a city, you will end up at a
market
Because of this there isn't too much
of a need to advertise
If you aren't your average
Englander, however, you can find
out all you need to online by simply
typing in "Winchester Market" on a
search engine
There you can find all you need to
find about times and the type of
market on each day
On the first and third Sunday of
every month, the market was Art &
Design but on week days excluding
Wednesdays the market is eclectic
with lots of food

St. Patricks Day Parade March 13th 12:00 pm 5:00 pm I found that my biggest help while
finding out whether the event was
worth it or not was social media
I searched the hashtag
#stpatricksdaylondon to see if it
was a fun event that people wanted
to post about
In addition to people posting about
previous year's events, the parade
was advertised well by local news
sources, very similarly to when I
attended the Mummer's Day Parade
They gave good information about
the start times and events going on
coinciding the parade

Leadership Money Money

Staff
There were different layers of
staff working the event
There were people in yellow
vests that were obviously more
trained and official and the vests
clearly said "staff"
Volunteers that were less official
had lanyards on that said
"Volunteer" so it was clear you
could ask them small questions
like directions
A few people were clearly the
highest qualified, wearing nicer
clothing with headsets and
walkie talkies - had jackets that
said "Mummer's Parade"
Each group had its own manager
to keep them moving along and
solve technical problems
The first line of staff we came in
contact with was the bag
checkers
There was no staff to check our
tickets, we just scanned them
ourselves and went through the
roundabout
There was staff at the top of all
of the stands to direct you to
seating
The event seems to be run
almost completely through
Resources
A nice part of the parade is that
they use Broad Street, which
looks right to City Hall and has
great, historical buildings along
the sides of it. It adds a great
philly-feeling to the parade that
really shows off the city.
Because of that there is no
reason to add too much else
besides some colorful up
lighting along the buildings, but
the street decorates itself nicely
I'd imagine the bleachers used
are the same ones put up for
every parade, like the
Thanksgiving day parade,
because I saw they just stayed
up from Thanksgiving to New
Years Day.
I'm not sure if this would be
resources or not, but they
utilized the ability to sell
merchandise at the game.
Everyone is getting all hyped up
so it is a good time to play on
peoples emotions to get them to
spend money.
They also used the game to
promote future games on the big
screen
The tents used at the event are
provided for the vendors so
Cost
The event was free to watch
along the side of the street
If you wanted to be guaranteed
great seats at the best
performance spots on the parade
route, seats in the bleachers
were $20.50
The cost was about what you
would expect to pay, around the
same price as the cheapest
tickets at a Panthers "American"
Football game. We took the
cheapest option and got tickets
for 33 (or about $50)
The price of food was about
what it normally is at sporting
events - overpriced compared to
how much it would be in an
open market
The event is free for everyone -
the market is open and in the
online interactions
I asked a woman running a craft
tent about how she was able to
get involved with the market:
she said she had to fill out many
forms online to apply for a spot
at the market - she then had to
send in pictures of her work and
recommendations for her work
to make sure she was a
legitimate vendor. Lastly they
gave her a week and day that
she could set up her tent every
month to sell her product
there is a sense of continuity as
well as a safety factor for the
tents
The event rents out the tents
from the same company
everyday so they are not owners
of the tents but have a company
that they consistently work with
so there may be a discount
associated
center of the town
The price of actual goods was
more in the upper class budget I
would say because Winchester is
an expensive area and England
is an expensive country

The staff was difficult to
distinguish because I really saw
very few people in positions of
authority
There was one person near the
parade route who did have a
vest on that said event staff near
where I was but they didn't seem
to have much authority except to
assist the parade participants in
going through the route
The resources for the event were The event is free for everyone
simply the city itself The sites of London are also free
People are going to be visiting which is an added bonus to
the city on any given day to visitors considering so many of
experience London for all that it the people around us were
is worth so there is no need to foreign - many people did not
advertise anything new or speak English as their first
special really - the city does all language
of the work for that
The rails were set up for the
parade long before the parade
started to divert foot traffic in
the right way and establish the
parade route
Operations
Trash/Environmental
Impact
Trash cans were absolutely
overflowing, causing trash
to be all over the streets
Beer cans and bottles were
left on every flat, solid
platform in the city
The environmental concern
for the event was almost
nonexistent unless it just
wasnt obvious from the
outside- there were no
recycling cans for thousands
upon thousands of beer cans
and the bathrooms were
leaking chemicals into the
streets
At one point, hundreds of
balloons were released into
the air, which is obviously a
great show but terrible for
the environment
A big difference with the
amount of trash in the
stadium there vs. an
American sports game is
that there were no hawkers
Operations Operations Operation
Vendors Bathroom Safety/Security
Facilities
No one really took Port-a-jons at big Emergency mini
advantage of the locations were easily vehicles for police and
opportunity for accessible and EMTs
vendors public restrooms Security in yellow
A few people walked were open at jackets
around selling beer or popular buildings Police in cars, on foot,
hoagies out of coolers and train stations and on bikes
but they weren't Some were leaking Event staff members
affiliated with the their blue liquid distinguished by jacket
event onto the street which and lanyards
Sponsors of the event was not good Stretchers on scene
walked around and Had metal fences to
handed out programs hold back crowds but
for free didnt always work
The vendors were The bathroom Security was similar to
different than sports facilities were well- most professional
games I've been to marked for men but games where the
previously: although not well-marked for security guards stand
there was food for women (probably along the outside edges
going around selling food or
drinks
People were also not
allowed to bring any alcohol
into the seating area so there
were no bottles or cans to be
left around on the ground by
drunk spectators
Overall it was probably the
cleanest game I have ever
been to for any sport, with
easily accessible recycling
and general waste cans by
every door way and
concession stand
Like most places in England,
the recycling bin is bigger
and more easily accessible
than the trash bin so I would
imagine and from what I
saw, it seemed that a
majority of people recycled
when necessary
Like all of Winchester, the
market was very clean and
very environmentally
sale, it was only because there was of the field looking into
accessible if you left an overwhelming the crowd to avoid
the seating area and amount of men at anyone trying to come
went to the outer area the game compared on to the field
of the stadium to buy to the amount of A nice change of
it women) scenery was that all of
There were no the security guards got
hawkers trying to sell along very well with
food or drinks in the the spectators, talking
stands and alcohol and laughing and
was forbidden in the smiling
seating area There was an entire,
Overall the food was solid line of security
very much what you guards separating the
would expect: opposing teams stands
hotdogs, soda, beer, from the home stands
etc. without much (literally a person every
variety two steps up the whole
The vendor area was set of stands) for
jam packed- usually obvious reasons
there are easy They were
walking areas to get distinguished by bright
through those areas yellow vests so they
and from stand to were clear to see
stand but this place They also checked bags
had no rhyme or before going into the
reason and therefore facility but it was very
took much longer to lightly - I've learned a
navigate than it had lot about England is
to their 0 tolerance gun
laws, which in some
ways reduces the risk
of having people bring
bags into sporting
events
The vendors are No additional Winchester itself has a
quality craftsmen. bathroom facilities very low crime rate
Like I discussed are provided just for The town has only 4
friendly
None of the vendors give out
plastic bags to carry what
you bought and if they do,
they charge a fee (5 or 10
pence) which lowers the
environmental impact
Every tent seems to really
clean up after themselves
well - watching them pack
up, I noticed everyone I saw
taking their trash with them
and when all is said and
done you would never know
that a market was just there
One thing that Winchester
could improve on to help the
event however is to provide
more public recycling cans -
most in Winchester are just
for regular waste
There was a lot of trash on
the streets like you would
expect in major cities at
earlier, the vendors the event itself reported homeless
go through an Its so common in people currently and it
extensive amount of England to drink tea is one of the most
screening before and coffee, I just affluent cities in
being accepted into would assume that Hampshire
the market. most people would Therefore, there has
They were all arts use the facilities at never been an event
vendors on this one of the dozens of that I have seen
particular day but tea shops along the someone in need of
there was a wide market route and assistance or in danger
variety from practical just grab some tea However, you have to
crafts that you could while there which prepare for everything -
actually use to crafts probably also helps I have never seen any
that are just for stimulate the local market specific security
decoration economy of walking around, but the
It ranged from Winchester instead market passes right by
paintings to of sending all the the local police station
sculptures to money off with the so if there were a
ceramics to vendors problem it wouldnt
woodwork and take but a second for
everything in authorities to be there
between on the scene
The main source of No additional Security was very
shopping and bathrooms were surprising to me - I
spending came to the provided for the stood at the busiest place
events
It wasn't a good thing but it
wasn't surprising by any
means or unmanageable
There was no obvious
attempt to make the event
greener and there were no
extra trashcans added to the
streets than there would be
on any normal London day
Experience
Entertainment Quality
regular shops already event besides the of the parade route, right
along the street businesses that had at the corner of
There were no extra bathrooms along Travolger's Square, and
vendors set up for the parade route I only saw one person
selling products It didn't create as who was wearing a vest
The shops had special much of a problem showing they were staff
promotional events or as one might think, I was uneasy about it -
festive decorations but I did look into the first time in my life I
but it was nothing the McDonald's to felt uncomfortable in a
more than a regular check the bathroom crowd
day line and it was I saw no police officers
quite long at all, and even though
they may have been
there and I just did not
feel safe because there
was no intimidating
police presence
There was indeed
heightened police
presence around other
areas of the city like by
the palace, the treasury,
and other royal areas
I've been to the city
enough times before to
recognize when there is
more security and due to
Europe's recent security
changes, the standard
weapon of a machine
gun carried by military
personnel and police so
it is quite a presence
where they are stationed
Experience Post-Event Response
Atmosphere
High quality costumes led
to great performances to
watch
Even though it is a strange
tradition, they made it fun
and easy to watch for
everyone
For being average people
performing, were quite
good
If you didnt have a seat, it
was hard to see
performance unless you
pushed to the front
Stayed true to tradition
Good sound systems
Had up lighting on the
building to enhance
performance
The entire experience was
a lot of fun - Our seats
were close to the field and
there didnt seem to be a
bad seat in the house
The players interacted
with the crowd well after
big plays which was fun to
be a part of
The seats were reasonably
comfortable
The home team won
which made it an
enjoyable game for us
It was also cool to be able
to go to the game early
like we did to watch the
players warm up. They let
people in about 2 hours
before the match starts and
you can get very close to
the field and very close to
the players
The little vendors were
great - a lot of fun to look
at and shop with
There was definitely a "Philly"
atmosphere with a lot of local
residents and young adults
Crowds were very pushy and
aggressive but that's common for
Philadelphia
People were still drunk from
New Years so they were out-of-
their-minds drunk
Unless you paid for seats, it was
definitely not a family
atmosphere
Overall, everyone was very
happy and excited which made it
fun
The atmosphere was one of
"proper English comradery" with
a sense of brotherhood and pride
in the team. There were chants
(for our team "When the Saints
Go Marching In") that everyone
sang along with which was fun
Something foreign to me was the
amount of clapping going on - in
American sports, usually
cheering is really the only form
of support, but in English sports
there is just an overwhelming
amount of clapping for the good
but less intense moments
The after part of the game was
fun to watch because everyone
leaves the game all at once and
heads toward the bars and the
train station which are all in the
same area, so a whole sea of
people in red are walking around
the streets in good spirits
The atmosphere is a whole lot of
fun - its very English and really
goes with the character that
This year was not a good one for the
mummers. Even though every year
there is some sort of uprising about
the cross-dressing costumes, this year
really went above and beyond to
offend. One group dressed up in
brown-face wearing ponchos and
sombreros with maracas, living up to
the ignorant stereotypes of Mexican
culture. Another group had a sign that
had Kaitlyn Jenner photo shopped to
a box of Fruit loops next to Bruce
Jenner's Wheaties box. They also had
one of their members caught on video
screaming "f*** the gays!" It was not
a good way to start the new year for
Philadelphia. The great parts of the
parade were clearly overshadowed by
this awful behavior.
An interesting point I think is worth
mentioning is that when you tell
people you are going to a match,
everyone warns you of the rowdiness.
Now, I didn't find the game to be too
overly rowdy (but I also was far from
the opposing team) but if you were in
a situation where there was unrest, it
wouldn't be unexpected. People just
know it going into games, which I
think really changes the atmosphere.
People are ready and willing to get
into the game and I think that showed.
For someone who doesn't like that, it
is unlikely they would have not
known that it was going to be that
way beforehand.
All I can say about the after event
thoughts are if it was a little warmer
here in England, I would be at the
There are some
unaffiliated people who
perform all down the
streets of Winchester with
open guitar cases and
buckets for money which I
think really makes it a
great atmosphere to walk
around in and I have yet to
see anyone who isn't
talented and entertaining
so that is just a perk of
holding the market in
Winchester
The parade itself was a lot
of fun - really good variety
of floats and entertainment
There were people of all
different backgrounds and
ethnicities, but it was
obviously all about the
Irish which made it a lot
of fun
There were dancers,
musicians, and floats
representing Spanish
culture, pop culture, and
traditional culture
People also used the
opportunity to make
political statements, like
people promoting
Buddhism, marching for
gay pride, and handing out
flyers for Irish who want
to stay in the EU - I
thought it was an
interesting but innovative
idea and forum to use
Winchester already has
Vendors are friendly (maybe not
as friendly as they would be in
the US, but the standards are
different here when it comes to
talking to strangers)
The market adds to the concept
of being on a main street in an
ancient city - I think it was a
great time
The atmosphere was great for
families or young people
There weren't mass crowds of
drunk, rowdy people but there
also was a mature atmosphere
that made drinking acceptable
There was also a lot of green and
Irish influence noticeable in the
crowds and the floats so it was a
fun, true-to-the-culture
atmosphere as well
market every opportunity I could get
The event was a lot of fun! I enjoyed
getting to experience a St. Patrick's
Day parade for a city that has a great
deal of close, Irish influence but the
lack of noticeable security around the
busy areas was not comforting and
because of that, I did not stay in the
busy areas as much as I would have
liked to because it made me nervous
which was a shame. I agree that
protecting important buildings with
heavy security is important, but so is
protecting the spectators and
participators of the event
 As concluded by my research and proven through my notes, it is obvious that event

planning and event attendance has many components which are not always able to fit perfectly

into boxes and charts. My hope, however, is this chart provides a general overview of the event

and makes clear specific points that are important to be aware of when examining the evidence to

defend my claims. The most important factors that I found in comparison of UK events to US

events is the environmental impact, the crowd response, and security. These subjects were all

touched upon previously in the chart and the previous essay writing, but will be examined further

in greater detail.

The UK is one of the worlds leading superpowers when it comes to low environmental

impact and sustainability. Where the US consistently is ranked one of the worst countries for

pollution and waste, the UK has slowly moved its way up among other European countries to be

kinder to the earth. While in England, I came across recycling bins at every corner, and many

recycling bins were divided into plastic, paper, compost, and other to allow for more specific and

efficient recycling to happen. Besides everyday opportunities to make the world cleaner, the UK

also goes a step further than the US in the event industry to lower their carbon footprint. At many

events in the US, and particularly the three I was mainly comparing the UK events to (Musikfest,

Carolina Panthers game, and Mummers Day Parade) there is a noticeable amount of waste not

only in overflowing trash cans, but in the streets and venues as well. As in the case of the

Mummers Day Parade, there were hundreds of balloons let go into the air, event in the US tend

to be behind on environmentally friendly practices. On the contrary, the events I attended in the

UK seemed to outwardly be more conscious of their effect on the environment. At the

Southampton Football game, for example, the food was allowed into the seating area, but drinks,

alcoholic and nonalcoholic, were only allowed to be consumed out in the area where they were
being sold. This reduced the amount of waste left in the seating area but also kept the ground and

seat from getting sticky with spilled beverages. There were no hawkers going around selling food

either which appeared to allow for the food to be packaged in a way that produced less waste. At

the St. Patricks Day Parade in London, the trash was surprisingly well controlled. In a city as

large as London, I expected more difficulty with keeping the streets clean while the large crowds

filled them. Probably partly because Europeans tend to be more environmentally friendly as

individuals as well as full scale as nations, there just seemed to be less liter. Trash cans were full

but they were much easier to find and not over flowing as they had been in Philadelphia for the

Mummers Day Parade. That does not mean by any means that there was no trash on the ground

but as far as an event as large as this parade goes, the trash was not unimaginable. The interesting

thing about the event was that I did not see any trashcans that were added just for the event all

of the trash cans were there every other time I was in London too. The difference is that the

amount of cans they have on a normal day felt much higher than the amount of cans in an

American city even on a special event day. It just further amplifies their concern to reduce waste

and littering at all times.

There are places to be rowdy and places to be calm, but compared to Americans, those of

the UK are on a different scale. Day to day life of an English person is quiet. They talk quieter,

live quieter, and find Americans to be very loud compared to what they prefer. This translates

into events quite clearly. At the soccer game I noticed something I was very unfamiliar with:

clapping. Ive been to many sporting events in my life, although not all professional, but I rarely

hear clapping. It sounds strange at first but when you think about it, Americans tend to show

their excitement and approval through cheering, not purely clapping. It was a much more refined

way to attend a sporting event, although strange to join in with. Similarly, at the St. Patricks Day
Parade, there was a large crowd with not a lot of noise. Floats would go by carrying people with

amplification saying come on, London! Lets get loud! but no one ever did. It was strangely

quiet. In many ways it made me feel more of a spectator than a participant which I believe is a

negative at an event in most cases. It was not that the crowd did not enjoy themselves, but rather

I believe it was just a cultural difference. As an American watching these events unfold, it was

something that I did not expect and never adjusted to. For me, that was simply just not the way

that I wanted to experience the events. When looking back on my research and after visiting

around the UK to Wales and Scotland, I found that this piece of evidence revealed a design flaw

in my research. One cannot simply use England as a measure for the whole UK. Wales, Scotland,

and Northern Ireland are not as reserved as England and if I would have done research in those

countries as well I think that my results, specifically in this regard, would have been vastly

different.

In terms of security, there are many factors that play into why security is different in the

UK and in Europe in general than it is in the states. In the UK, it is illegal in almost every

circumstance to own a firearm. According to research done by the United States Library of

Congress, guns were used in less than 0.3% of recorded crimes in Great Britain in 2008-2009

and since then gun laws have only increased. Eliminating guns from the picture changes security

in everyday events in England, but especially in the events field. Regular police officers do not

carry firearms. While walking around London, the only time officers will hold firearms is if they

are protecting someone important or controlling crowds at large events, such as the St. Patricks

Day Parade. However, the guns they hold are not handguns but machine guns about 2.5 feet

long. Therefore, during large events there is a sense of safety along with a sense of fear. There is

safety in knowing that it is extremely unlikely for gun violence to occur from people in the
crowds. At events like the soccer game, security did check bags as people entered the stadium

with small metal detectors, but it would not have been difficult to sneak past security with a

firearm. Fortunately, that is not a threat they need to worry too much about. Fear comes when all

of the power is held by men in uniform with automatic weapons. As proven through recent

events in the US, police officers are simply humans as well and are not always able to use better

judgement in the discernment of when to pull the trigger. Putting people on the streets with such

great power in a crowd of people where there are virtually no guns is in some ways difficult to

adjust to, especially as an American. Realistically, however, the biggest threat is terrorism in the

sense of large scale destruction that cannot really at this point be protected against. The reality

of Europe is that although the whole world is in fear of terrorism, Europe faces a greater threat

due to loose border control and close geographical location to countries breeding terrorism.

While Americans worry about terrorism on a large scale, such as bombs or suicide missions, they

have heightened security already because of the threat of guns. The UK did not start with that

heightened security and therefore is looser with its current security even in the face of terrorist

threats. They are just not as developed in terms of security.

As a main takeaway from this research, the most important information that was brought

forward was the need for events and festivals in all parts of the world. Although England is not

vastly different from America in many ways, it still lies across the ocean, over 3,000 miles away

at its closest point to America, and still holds events as forms of celebration, comradery, and

unity. People across the world or in our own backyards all require a sense of belonging in some

form or another and that need is fulfilled with the attendance and participation in events, whether

they be big or small. In many ways, events of the UK and of the US are similar in more ways

than they are different and if tested, I propose that this would be true all over the world. The
ideas, rituals, and occasions may differ, but events are globally used to bring people together,

regardless of the reason, and that proved true from America all the way across the pond to

England.
 Resources

"Environmental Taxes, Reliefs and Schemes for Businesses." GOV.UK. United Kingdom

Government. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <https://www.gov.uk/green-taxes-and-reliefs/overview>.

"Firearms-Control Legislation and Policy: Great Britain." Law Library of Congress. United

States Library of Congress. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.loc.gov/law/help/firearms-

control/greatbritain.php>.

"Winchester Markets." Winchester City Council. Winchester, Hampshire. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

<http://www.winchester.gov.uk/community/markets/>.