English "flags" since 1996, not a single one before

England played Scotland in the groups, possibly relevant

Crowd composition seems a bit different also

I think England playing Scotland early on at Euro 96 might have been a factor. Wouldn't make sense to take a Union flag to that game

Same would apply to 'God Save The Queen / King' then?

Well that's an interesting rabbit hole. Since the early 90s 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 sing Flower of Scotland with GSTQ/K being the specifically 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 anthem for sporting events. There's a view that 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 should have their own anthem so GSTK can be reserved for events where GB/UK compete as such

Yes, indeed - I guess I was trying to say that it still happens nonetheless. Similarly the England v Scotland group game might have been *a* factor in the prevalence of St George's Cross flags at Euro 96, but, to the best of my recollection, I dont think it was a particularly huge one.

Oh yes, I'm not saying it was the only factor (or even a main factor)

I was thinking about this the other day, I'd definitely pin Euro '96 as a turning point. When growing up, it was as a Brit with the Union flag to the fore. That Euros was the first time that the George Cross became a big thing