Mourgues, Vincent

Flags in the stands. Support, atmosphere, and building the identity(ies) of an affective community - 2023.


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Flags are an integral part of the arsenal of supporters’ groups, and play an important role in the stands of football stadiums such as those of Girondins de Bordeaux. Supporting the team since the 1950s, they took on an increasingly important role for supporters in the 1970s and 1980s, accompanying the formation of supporters’ groups and associations. From then on, they became a medium for multiple identities: the identity of the club, the identity of the city, the identity of the supporters’ groups. Palimpsests of references, they express sporting, political and identity commitments in the space-time of the match and the stadium. The club also offers flags with multiple references, inspired by the flags of supporters’ groups, both to enhance the atmosphere and as part of its range of merchandising.