Red Cross steps in to protect emblem from UK panto
A ‘nurse' in a Robin Hood panto show had to change his costume after the Red Cross warned that the use of its emblem could violate the Geneva Conventions.
Glasgow's Pavilion Theatre had a nurse character in the pantomime show wearing a costume with red crosses on his hat and tunic — but was forced to changed the crosses from red to green after legal objections by the British Red Cross.
The humanitarian organization the symbol is a special sign of neutrality recognised even in armed conflicts and that its unauthorized use — even in an innocent or light-hearted way — undermines its mission.
"We have no desire to be the villains of the pantomime or to appear heavy handed, but we do have a very serious obligation to protect the Red Cross emblem," the group said in a statement.
Iain Gordon, the theatre’s general manager, told local newspaper The Scotsman that he was shocked to receive a lawyer's letter from British Red Cross.
In 2008, the International Red Cross said Colombia violated the Geneva Conventions by using its emblem during a covert military mission. In the same year, Johnson & Johnson and the American Red Cross resolved a lawsuit over the use of their shared red-and-white symbol.
