Brisbane 2032's biggest crowd movement risks may sit between the systems

Some of the greatest crowd movement pressures facing Brisbane 2032 may emerge between transport networks, precincts and venues, even when each performs according to plan.

That challenge will be a focus for Simon Babes, who has joined professional services company GHD’s Brisbane team as Movement Strategies Lead - Major Events, bringing international Games experience in people movement and major-event movement planning. 

Major events are often planned around individual assets and organisational responsibilities. But spectators experience one continuous journey. For Brisbane 2032, the challenge is how transport, precincts and venues work together when conditions change.

Pressure can develop where responsibility changes hands. A venue may discharge spectators as planned when a nearby transport service has lost capacity. A station may continue to operate safely while new public information redirects people towards a constrained route. Each organisation may be meeting its own requirements while the overall journey deteriorates.

Planning for these interfaces means agreeing who can make a whole-of-journey decision when conditions change. It means setting operating limits and escalation triggers, then rehearsing how organisations will respond together.

Simon has led movement planning and modelling for transport hubs and major events venues in the United Kingdom, Asia and the Middle East. His Games-related work includes Beijing 2008 metro station modelling, London 2012 station planning, 2017 South East Asia Games stadium redevelopment, and last-mile planning for both Paris 2024 and FIFA 2026 stadiums. Across these programs, his work has examined how spectator demand, pedestrian movement, transport operations and venue access interact under pressure.

Simon was managing director of Movement Strategies, the leading crowd dynamics consultancy that joined GHD in 2020. His work connects passenger demand forecasting, pedestrian modelling and operational planning, giving infrastructure and event leaders evidence to test assumptions early and consider how places will perform under both peak and everyday demand.

Simon says successful crowd movement planning begins by seeing the experience through the eyes of the people making the journey.

“A spectator doesn't experience a venue, station, precinct and transport network as separate systems. They experience one journey. That changes the planning question.

“We need to understand where responsibility changes hands, what happens when demand moves differently from the plan and who can act when conditions change. Brisbane has the opportunity to build that capability for 2032 and retain it for the way Queenslanders move every day.”

“The opportunity extends beyond event-time performance. Decisions made for 2032 can support better information, transfers, more accessible journeys and clearer public information after the Games. They can also leave Queensland with stronger co-ordination practices and evidence for managing future growth and to build resilience into the design and operation of a world class transport network moving spectators safely to and from successful venues.”

About GHD

GHD is a leading professional services company operating in the global markets of water, energy and resources, environment, property and buildings, and transportation. Committed to a vision to make water, energy, and communities sustainable for generations to come, GHD delivers advisory, digital, engineering, architecture, environmental and construction solutions to public and private sector clients. Established in 1928 and privately owned by its people, GHD’s network of 12,000+ professionals is connected across 165 offices located on five continents.