Curb on Olympics bunting displays to keep sponsors happy

Under the guidelines, official paraphernalia can be displayed at a morris dancing festival but not beside banners made by a local sewing group. Offenders could be fined a maximum of £20,000 under the Olympic Games Act.

Locog, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, is keen to promote companies such as British Airways, BMW and Lloyds TSB who have paid a total of £700 million to link their brands to the Olympic movement.

More than 1,000 towns, villages and London boroughs who welcome the Olympic torch in July have to ensure each event will benefit Games sponsors and not competitors.

A 30-page Olympic "Brand Protection Guidelines", issued secretly to town halls and passed to the Standard, have rules on "how to fly flags, banners or bunting" with individual sections for lamp posts, walls, flag poles, railings, parks, town squares, buildings, statues, memorials, fences, roads and roundabouts.

Locog wants to create the "London 2012 Look", which "requires all venues to be clean of commercial, political or religious advertising and messaging, leaving only the Look of the Games". Local taxpayers will also be charged for 2012 items, including £4,600 for 24 banners.

The rules ban official items being hung from "shops, offices, market stalls, factories, etc which the public identify with a particular commercial entity".

The guidelines give examples where official material should not appear, including "a county fair that has multiple sponsors (which are not London 2012 sponsors), an "Olympic Parade with London 2012 banners down the high street which have been made by a local sewing group, and the parade is sponsored by local businesses (not London 2012 sponsors)" or "an Olympics ball in the town hall, the event is sponsored by the local brewery".

However, Locog would allow its material to be displayed during "a morris dancing festival in a town square".

A 2012 spokesman said local authorities asked for detailed guidance on how any branding should be used and "we have provided this".

Locog said it would be highly unlikely a council would be fined but they may be asked to change their displays.

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