Lasse Bauer, SLO Brøndby IF, on how and why Brøndby IF developed their own pyrotechnics
During the ESSMA Safety & Security Seminar in Dortmund, Lasse Bauer (Supporter Liaison Officer) and Mickel Lauritsen (former Director of Security & Stadium Operations) presented how and why Brøndby IF developed their own pyrotechnics. ESSMA interviewed Lasse Bauer about the different steps in the process and the reaction of their fans.
Why did Brøndby IF create their own pyrotechnics?
We have tried to convince our fans to use the flares in coordinated places before each half so the game won’t get interrupted. For us as a club, creating our own pyrotechnics was the logical next step to ensure a safe stadium while still pleasing the fans. The Federation of Danish Football Fan Clubs (DFF) brought us into contact with a pyrotechnician who knew how to solve the problems related to pyrotechnics in stadiums. Together with him, we have been developing the pyrotechnics for the past two years.
What is the main goal you want to achieve with these pyrotechnics?
Our overall goal is to create an intense atmosphere, without people feeling unsafe. Furthermore, we set four main requirements:
- The flares should be legal under the current Danish law
- A minimised impact of smoke
- A reduced heat from the flares. Our flares burn between 180-220 °C, while standard flares burn between 1500-1800 °C.
- The approval of our fans
How did the fans react?
As a club, we stand in the middle between the regulators and our fans. We want a safe stadium, but at the same time we don’t want our fans getting fines. Therefore, from a club perspective, we hope our fans will use our legal pyrotechnics. They are very pleased that we’re having an open debate about it. However, there are ultras that want to show force to the opponent’s fans, which could be an issue. But, they told us that they are willing to keep an open mind so we’ll have to await their reaction. Since they are not obligated to use our pyrotechnics, we want to create a large test at Brøndby IF together with our fans to see if it will succeed and how our fans react to it.
What are the next steps?
We are preparing a large test during a football match in the beginning of 2018. Hopefully, we can conclude that our pyrotechnics are supported and approved by the authorities and our fans. Both the Danish and Swedish League have been very supportive and involved during the process. At the moment, we’re waiting for the next shipment from China. Since we still order at relatively low quantities, we can’t fill a container by ourselves.