Fatboy Slim's pop concert on New Year's Day was of special interest to Brighton-based Keep Sussex Skating.

Our city is getting ready to become a London Olympic Games satellite destination in 2012.

However, it could never sustain the impact of such massive interest without having competent strategic crowd control in place.

Norman Cook's organisation, together with Sussex Police and Brighton and Hove City Council, showed that a crowd of 20,000 in Madeira Drive could be controlled on the day.

The seafront is visualised as the city's future showcase of business enterprise, with major new developments as attractions for both residents and visitors.

This demonstration of crowd control will help allay any anxious opposition to the proposed new International Ice Arena at Brighton Black Rock.

Some residents wonder if the area would be swamped with skating fans. However, the capacity crowd for major events, including home matches and national events of ice hockey and ice skating, will be 11,000.

This is considerably less than Fatboy Slim's 20,000 fans.

By the time the arena is opened and fully operational, the city's crowd control capability will surely have been raised again to the required security standard of an Olympic destination. The ice arena complex would thus be part of the general routine of security for major events in the city.

Keep Sussex Skating believes Norman Cook has done Sussex skaters a good turn.

Patricia Ginman, Keep Sussex Skating, Varndean Road, Brighton, keepsussexskating@ntlworld.com