Use Of Pyrotechnics And Flares Banned At UK Music Festivals

This will come as a bummer for ravers and those who are attending music festivals in the UK and Wales.

The new Policing and Crime Bill that was passed on April 3, 2017, now bans the use and possession of any sort of pyrotechnics at the music festivals that includes flares and fireworks. This can definitely make big music festivals less fun, but in the name of safety...it's probably a good thing.

The ban is on smoke bombs too, so if you’re thinking of sneaking anything that might pop, cause smoke, etc for your Glastonbury or Reading and Leeds trip, you might want to reevaluate your decision as anyone found breaking this rule is looking at a jail time of 3 months, a fine, or straight away getting banned at that particular festival. This ban seems to be the same as the ban of pyrotechnics at UK football matches.

Now to ask which pyrotechnics are banned ? Well, this can be found in a blog post written by Alex Chapman who is a solicitor at VHS Fletchers Solicitors and defines banned pyrotechnics as :

“...an article that contains explosive substances, or an explosive mixture of substances, designed to produce heat, light, sound, gas or smoke, or a combination of such effects, through self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions.”

Questioning the enforceability of this law he also said :

“Quite how enforceable the new law is could be another matter. Unlike a football match, the police will struggle to enter the crowd at a festival to make an arrest and the crowd is not monitored with CCTV. Most arrests under the new law will probably come at festival gates, as with drugs.

The motion however will not seek to ban licensed artist and promoters to use pyrotechnics in their shows, but for now we have to wait and watch how this law will affect the experience at the music festivals in UK and Wales.

H/T: Rave Jungle