Adhesive tape for flying reel change in paper finishing machines or the like, having a paper backing and a water-soluble self-adhesive composition, characterized in that the paper backing (2) is coated on one side with a water-soluble self-adhesive composition (3) while part of the reverse side of the paper backing (2) is provided with a double-sided adhesive tape (6), which in turn has a readily splicing paper backing (7) which is provided on both sides with water-soluble self-adhesive composition (8 and 9 respectively).