NME Festival Guide
2009

NME News

Reading And Leeds Festivals bans flags

NME.COM wants to know what you think about the decision

August 18, 2009 | 12 Comments

Reading And Leeds Festivals will not allow fans to carry flags into the festival arenas this year (August 28-30), organisers have confirmed.

The move comes as festival officials attempt to give all fans the best possible view while watching bands, according to information on the festival's website.

"Flags won't be allowed in the arena. They restrict the view of people behind," the website states.

And NME.COM wants to know what you think about flags at festivals.

Do you back Reading And Leeds' bosses decision to ban them? And what are your experiences of flags at festivals generally. Do you hate flags or are you in favour of them? Perhaps you were planning on taking one to Reading or Leeds?

Let us know what you think by emailing us at news@nme.com with Flags in the title along with your full name, where you're from and, if you have got them, any pictures of you with flags at a festival.

Reading/Leeds Festival tickets:

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Comments (12)

Add a comment

mdelan

Aug 18, 2009

About time too... they're a pain in the @rse. And no sitting on shoulders either... you deserve every carton of pi55 that hits you... And stop all that cheering and clapping will you... I'm trying to listen to a voicemail on my mobile.

marky9x

Aug 19, 2009

Brilliant news ! I hope Glastonbury follow as I couldn't see a thing on the stages this year and had to watch the screens. Agree with your man's comments above, ban sitting on shoulders although me and the lads had great fun at Glasto this year tapping people on the back of the knees so they both came tumbling down !

mattiohurrellio

Aug 19, 2009

Good.

dean3020

Aug 19, 2009

Great decision! This year's glastonbury festival was the worst I'd seen flags-wise, they were everywhere! It really did seem unneccessary and unfair on everyone else. Can we also ban people sitting on other people's shoulders?

spittingpink

Aug 19, 2009

agreed! I'm sick of them!it was ok when people made their own and funny ones but since they started selling them there, everyone has the same ones and they just get in the way. RHCP's a few years ago was the worst, not only was the sound shite but i couldnt see a thing!!

mart_cfc

Aug 19, 2009

I'd imagine this is more for TV purposes. Flags aren't a problem when you're there, they're 10 foot on the air on a bloody big stick. If you're far enough back that they're a problem, you wouldn't see the stage anyway. Thousands of the things at glasto this year, and not once did a flag restrict my view.

tbob1927

Aug 19, 2009

The banning of flags is, quite possibly, the best festival moment of 2009. Its been getting bad for the last 2 or 3 years but this years Glastonbury was ridiculous. I couldn't see any of Blur (bar the screens) because of it and when I got home the NME poster of Bruce Springsteen could have been anyone if the caption hadn't told me who it was. Some begrudging respect to whoever made the Michael Jackson/E.T. Moonwalk In Peace one though.Thank you Festival Republic, see you next weekend!

russwook

Aug 19, 2009

Yeah Glasto flags suddenly got much worse this year even obscuring the camera shots. The Springsteen performance footage shows how bad it is. I'm trying to understand "Why". Is it a "look at me mum, i'm on the telly" thing? A "please someone notice me!" thing? It can't be a marker for your mates to find you as we all have mobile phones now and there we're never this many in the pre-mobile ere. Have more people got attention defecit dissorder now or what?

Mr Pink

Aug 19, 2009

However will I be able to find any of my friends at a festival again?I've always thought flags worked as unofficial meeting points, it did mean following one of a suspicious amount of Cornish flags though.