Five Years After Astroworld Tragedy, Pink Bows Foundation Honors Madison Dubiski’s Legacy Through Global Event Safety Initiatives

Five Years After Astroworld Tragedy, Pink Bows Foundation Honors Madison Dubiski’s Legacy Through Global Event Safety Initiatives

More than 1,250 event professionals have completed foundation’s Showstop® Procedure training, collectively contributing to the safety of audiences totaling over 100 million worldwide. Pink Bows Safe Space® activations have also supported more than 450,000 eventgoers.

HOUSTON (Nov. 5, 2026) – Five years ago today, 10 young people lost their lives at the Travis Scott Astroworld Festival tragedy in Houston, including 23-year-old Madison Dubiski, who attended the event with her younger brother, Ty. Madison never returned home. Six months later, on what would have been Madison’s 24th birthday, her parents, Michelle and Brian Dubiski, together with Ty, established Pink Bows Foundation to honor her memory and advance crowd safety, education and attendee wellbeing.

Since then, the foundation has supported internationally accredited Showstop^® Procedure training undertaken by more than 1,250 event professionals worldwide, representing organizations collectively responsible for audiences exceeding 100 million people. Pink Bows Safe Space® activations have supported more than 450,000 attendees across the United States.

“We cannot change the pain of losing Madison, but we can turn that pain into purpose,” said Michelle Dubiski, co-founder and board vice president of Pink Bows Foundation. “Our mission is to ensure proper safety protocols, training and accountability are in place at all live events, so that every attendee can enjoy these experiences and return home safely to the people who love them.”

Advancing Event Safety Through Education

 

Following the Astroworld tragedy, internationally recognized crowd safety specialist Steve Allen proposed developing a training program based on his proven Showstop® Procedure, after recognizing a significant gap in the industry’s approach to managing potentially life-critical incidents. Originally named and pioneered by Allen in the late 1990s while touring with Oasis, the Procedure had since been successfully implemented by him on 32 occasions.

With the support of Pink Bows Foundation, Allen and fellow specialist Dr. Mark Hamilton developed the multi-award winning and internationally accredited Professional Certificate in the Showstop® Procedure, launched in March 2025. The training provides a standardized framework for decision-making, communications, timely emergency intervention and the safe resumption of live events when threats to public safety no longer exist.

Importantly, this internationally accredited training program did not exist when Astroworld occurred in 2021. It does today. The program has since been adopted by professionals across major venues, festivals, sporting organizations and public safety agencies worldwide.

• Denmark’s Roskilde Festival and Switzerland’s Paléo Festival were among the first European festivals to undertake the training. Roskilde reported: “The Showstop Procedure course has enabled us to reduce the response time to seconds rather than minutes.”
• On Sept. 19, 2026, London’s Wembley Stadium incorporated the Showstop® Procedure into its emergency arrangements for the Union Jack Classic, establishing documented processes for stopping proceedings across the event’s different operational phases, for a crowd of 46,523.
• Showstop® courses have been held at venues including Chase Field in Phoenix, Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, the Boch Center in Boston and Cardiff City Stadium in Wales.
• In March 2026, the foundation launched the internationally accredited Introduction to the Showstop Procedure e-learning course, available in nine languages.
• In 2026, the Showstop® Procedure won Best Health and Safety at the Festival Suppliers Awards, and the Health and Safety Award at the Event Production Awards.

 

Supporting Fans Beyond Physical Safety

 

Alongside its training initiatives, the Pink Bows Safe Space® initiative provides dedicated areas at live events where attendees can access emotional support from licensed mental health professionals and trained volunteers.

• Having welcomed more than 450,000 visits, the initiative expanded its reach in 2026, including an activation at the Arizona State Fair in partnership with NAMI Valley of the Sun.
• The foundation also established a 16-member advisory board of international crowd safety and event security specialists, eight of whom are expert witnesses, to support its strategic objectives and further its mission.

In the past year, Pink Bows Foundation’s leaders and crowd safety experts have also shared the foundation’s prevention mission at major industry events worldwide, including the NCS4 Conference, ILMC, the UKCMA Conference, Pollstar, the Event Production Show and the inaugural Secure Venue Summit.

Honoring Madison’s Legacy

“Five years is not closure. It is a reminder that Madison should still be here, and that the work we’ve built in her name cannot be the end of the story,” said Brian Dubiski, co-founder and board treasurer of Pink Bows Foundation. “We’ve helped put a clear procedure and training in the hands of event professionals. Now venues and organizers need to use it. That is how we honor Madison and the other nine lives lost.”

On Nov. 5, members of the United Kingdom Crowd Management Association will Turn It Pink, swapping their company logos for pink versions on social media in Madison’s memory. Pink Bows Foundation invites organizations and supporters everywhere to join in using #TurnItPink and tagging Pink Bows Foundation.

“For those who do well, must also do good. Always give back!” – Madison Dubiski, 2021.