Safety first

last updated 8 January 2015

London

Acrobats with the Moscow State Circus were told this week they must wear hard hats during their European performances to comply with E.U. regulations. In the E.U., tightrope walkers and trapeze artists are subject to the same safety rules as construction workers. The Russians, on tour in Great Britain, are protesting. “This is just another loony law from Brussels,” circus general manager Paul Archer told the London Daily Telegraph. The helmets “could slip over the artists’ eyes or throw the performers off balance.” Acrobat Goussein Khamdouleav said that if he lost his grip and plunged 45 feet to the ground, a hard hat wouldn’t do him much good.