At Rock for People 2026, one of Europe’s largest music festivals, TruCrowd enhanced traditional backstage credentials with biometric identity based access control, processing more than 30,000 access checks for over 2,800 accredited staff in protected zones from a total 9000 suppliers and crew throughout the entire event lifecycle.
The deployment demonstrates how modern identity verification can improve security, simplify operations and create a stronger foundation for future venue access.
Identity based accreditation and access control at a glance
| Event | Rock for People 2026, Park 360, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic |
| Scale | Total 235 000 visits, 80 000 unique visitors and 200+ artists |
| Accredited identities | 2,800+ in the protected areas |
| Access verifications | 30,000+ |
| Registration stations | 10 |
| Access points | 28 |
| Verification | Face verification with QR fallback |
| Connectivity | Runs on a self-contained local network, fully independent of internet access |
| Privacy architecture | Hashed biometric templates, no photos stored, on site processing, GDPR compliant |
| Deployment | 3 to 14 June 2026, from site construction through teardown, 24/7 |
| Protected areas | Backstage and restricted zones across the festival |
Challenge
Rock for People brings together up to 80,000 visitors, more than 200 artists and 9000 of people working behind the scenes.
Artists, production crews, photographers, suppliers, contractors and security teams all require different levels of access throughout the venue.
Traditionally, these permissions are managed with wristbands with chips. While simple to issue, they can be shared, lost or stolen. Once issued, they are also difficult to revoke.
For Ameba Production, the festival organiser, securing most protected areas meant ensuring that access was linked to the individual rather than to a physical credential.
“With wristbands with chips, we couldn’t be sure who was actually behind a badge, and once one was issued we couldn’t take it back if it went missing. We needed access tied to the person, not the credential, and a clear record of who was on site and when.”
Milan Paul, Operations Director, Ameba Production
The organiser also wanted better operational visibility. By recording every authorised entry against a verified identity, access control could simultaneously provide accurate attendance and work hours records for staff, contractors and suppliers.
Solution
TruCrowd enabled identity based accreditation system across the festival.
Instead of verifying a wristband, the system verifies the person presenting it.
Registration
Staff, suppliers and crew completed registration through a browser based enrolment process running across ten accreditation stations.
Each required participant completed a single face capture that was immediately converted into a biometric template. From that point onward, identity verification required no physical credential.
Access control
28 access control points protected restricted areas throughout the venue.
At each checkpoint, the TruCrowd application captured a live facial image, generated a biometric template and compared it against enrolled identities.
Verification completed in under a second (ca 300ms), allowing authorised personnel to enter while preventing access to individuals without the required permissions.
The same software operated on both dedicated verification devices and standard smartphones, allowing organisers to deploy fixed checkpoints as well as mobile security teams using identical workflows.
The platform can also integrate with existing turnstiles and physical access infrastructure.
QR fallback
Participation in biometric verification remained voluntary.
Individuals who preferred not to use face verification received a QR credential that could be scanned using the same device and camera.
No separate lane, additional reader or parallel infrastructure was required, allowing both verification methods to coexist without operational complexity.
Proven in real operating conditions
The deployment covered the entire operational lifecycle of the festival, from the first day of site construction through the final teardown.
The system operated continuously across varying lighting conditions, changing weather and around the clock operations.
During the deployment:
- More than 2,800 identities for protected areas were enrolled
- More than 30,000 access checks were completed
- 28 access control points operated simultaneously across backstage entrances, production areas, photo pits, catering, merchandising, parking, accreditation and glamping
For protected areas most entries were completed using biometric verification, with QR credentials serving as an alternative when required.
Delivered entirely on a local network. The whole venue ran on a self-contained on-site network. Registration, verification and biometric matching all took place within the festival’s own infrastructure, with no dependency on internet connectivity or mobile coverage. Even with 28 checkpoints operating simultaneously across a large site, verification speed never relied on an external connection. The system is designed to run fully offline, so a dropped signal or saturated mobile network at peak time cannot stop people getting through the gate.
“Recognition performance remained consistently high. Verification typically completed almost instantly, while occasional first scan failures caused by partial face occlusion or challenging lighting were resolved with an immediate second scan.”
Daniel Krizan, CEO of TruCrowd
Privacy by design
Biometric identity verification requires strong privacy safeguards.
The deployment was designed around privacy by design principles from the outset.
No biometric images stored
The system does not retain facial photographs.
Each capture is converted into an encrypted biometric template that cannot be reconstructed into the original face image.
Explicit consent
Biometric processing is based on explicit user consent under GDPR.
Participation is voluntary, QR verification is always available and consent can be withdrawn at any time.
Separation of responsibilities
The organiser manages attendee and staff records.
TruCrowd processes biometric verification.
Neither party has access to the complete dataset, reducing privacy risk through architectural separation.
Local processing
Biometric matching takes place on infrastructure deployed within the event environment rather than relying on cloud services. The deployment ran on a local network, fully independent of internet connectivity. This keeps biometric processing under organiser control while supporting data residency requirements.
Limited retention
Biometric templates exist only for the duration of the event and are securely deleted after operations conclude.
Results
Rock for People demonstrated that identity based access control is ready for large scale live events.
The deployment was not an isolated pilot or proof of concept. It operated continuously throughout one of Europe’s largest festivals under real operating conditions.
Importantly, organiser’s existing accreditation platform integrated TruCrowd integrated identity engine with no need for extra development.
This allowed the organiser to strengthen security while preserving established operational workflows.
The same approach can be applied across festivals, stadiums, arenas, convention centres and other venues where access decisions depend on trusted identity rather than possession of a physical credential.
Identity based access control also creates a foundation for future use cases including spectator entry, premium hospitality, workforce management and secure venue operations.
“We didn’t run this as a side experiment, it covered the whole festival, from the first day of construction to the last day of teardown, day and night, in all weather. It sat on top of the accreditation system we already use, so our accreditation logic did not have to be changed. What we got out of it was fewer arguments at the gate about who’s allowed where, and an accurate record of hours worked without anyone filling in a sheet by hand.”
Milan Paul, Operations Director, Ameba Production
Interested in identity based venue access?
Whether you operate a festival, stadium, arena or entertainment venue, TruCrowd helps modernise accreditation and access control without replacing existing ticketing or accreditation systems.
