Flags in sports Stadia

[Chris Houston]

Some friends have experienced difficulties taking flags into stadia due to the a "fire certificate" being needed.  Does anyone know about these certificates?

[Ricardo]

I can only think it is the  stadia safety certificate that would be issued by the local authority each season, following discussions with building control, fire and police thats how it is where I am, our local police  placed a ban at our football stadium on oversized flags, at public events,(football games) they said it was a safety concern that when such a large flag is passing over several thousand heads, they cant see what potential trouble(crimes) is going on underneath.

Although such flags have been used for many years, it is something that they decided upon only over the last year.

[CivvyFSO]

It might be a certificate to prove it is flame retardant material (or that is has been treated to be flame retardant) that they will be requesting.

[Ricardo]

That was my concern following on from above, what if some idiot attempted to ignite such a large flag gliding over thousands of heads  prior to kick off with a lighter, if the flag wasnt certified "fire retardant"goodness knows what chaos/ injuries it could cause.

I would have thought it was in the best interests of the club, as part of their fire risk assessment to ensure that if they let such a potential fire hazard free inside their stadium, they would ensure all safety aspects/ control measures as well were addressed, as I wouldnt be surprised that whoever provides the flag aint thinking about it being a fire hazard, instead just a bit of harmless fun.

But that didnt concern the police at a meeting I attended at the start of this season, it was as I mentioned above, they wanted the flag banned as there could have been a crime being committed underneath that they couldnt see.