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Creating Vancouver’s next flag

Vancouver has grown and changed since its flag was originally created in 1993. The current flag is dated, not easily recognizable, and doesn’t follow basic flag design principles. In early 2025, the City announced a design competition to create a new City flag that would represent the community’s shared values and aspirations.

Flag Design Review Committee

The Vancouver City Council appointed a Flag Design Review Committee. The Committee is comprised of Vancouver residents and two members of City Council.

The Committee will review the 138 entries and make recommendations for finalists. After the finalists have been selected, residents will be invited to provide feedback on their preferred designs. The Committee will use that information to inform their final design selection and a runner-up. The recommended design will be submitted to the City Council for final adoption. The committee reserves the right not to recommend a proposed flag if a suitable design is not submitted.

Committee members 

Committee meetings 

Flag background

Vancouver’s first flag was adopted by the Vancouver City Council in 1993. It was designed internally with limited public engagement and has remained the City flag for 30+ years. As described in the 1993 Staff Report, the current flag design represents Vancouver’s “emergence as a “world-class city and its strength and natural beauty.” The City is seeking to create a flag that uses flag design best practices and is a recognizable symbol of Vancouver.

Flag reads Vancouver U.S.A. a colorful past - a bright future with a one-dimensional illustrated silhouette of a bird centered over a mountain and sun rays over water

Design competition

The City invited the public to submit flag designs between March 24 and June 14 (Flag Day). Entries were required to follow a design brief to ensure the flags represent the community and meet basic flag design standards.

Design brief

According to Good Flag, Bad Flag: How to Design a Great Flag,” published by the North American Vexillological Association, a flag should be created following basic design principles. The Design Review Committee’s decision will be informed by the criteria outlined in this publication and additional design concepts. The requirements are as follows:

Designs will be disqualified if they:

Prizes

Questions

Contact Communications Director Laura Shepard.