The event is aimed at UK, security companies and planning, intelligence and operational officers from local police forces who will discuss combating organised and strategic crime at UK music festivals.

Event Organiser Melvin Benn, Managing Director of Festival Republic, expects ticket touting to be a major focus of the event. He said,

 "For those who have saved up and bought tickets believing they are going to an event only to get there and get turned away from the festival because they have fake tickets is the main thing we want to address. It's very upsetting for those it happens to, and it effects their perception of the festival. We want to see how we can prevent fake ticket sales from happening."

Mr Benn has organised events included Reading and Leeds Festivals, Latitude, Electric Picnic, Big Chill, Hove in Norway, and he's contracted to help manage the Glastonbury Festival. He was speaking to eFestivals (http://www.efestivals.co.uk).

Other topics to be covered include: crime trends and tactics during the 2009 season; intelligence sharing systems and results, theft from tent, connections between touts, drugs, tent theft; organised criminal networks and crime prevention techniques.

Festival promoters and police forces invited to attend next year’s event include Glastonbury, Leeds, Reading, Latitude, Bestival, Rockness, Download, Isle of Wight, T in the Park, T4 on the Beach, V Festival, WOMAD, Glade Festival, Creamfields, Secret Garden Party, Global Gathering, The Big Chill and Electric Picnic. The event is free for all festival organisers.

The event will be held at the Royal Berkshire Conference Centre at the Madejski Stadium in Reading on Sunday 25th January. The inaugural event was held in May and judged to be a great success by the industry.