Spectator terrace barriers are widely used to limit crowd pressures and thus prevent injury. Barrier strength requirements, configuration guidelines, test procedures and permitted crowd densities are stated in the Guide to safety at sportsgrounds, known as the ‘green guide’, published by the Home Ofice. The design requirements primarily stem from research following two crowd disasters - Bumden Park, Bolton, 1946, where 33 fatalities occurred on a terrace and at Ibrox Park, Glasgow, 1971, where 66 fatalities occurred on a crowded stairway. More recently, 95 fatalities occurred on a terrace at Hillsborough, Shefield, in April 1989. The most recent version of the ‘green guide’ was
published in 1990.
J.F. Dickie and G.K. Wanless