Flag of Birmingham

City of Birmingham
UseCivil
Adopted23 July 2015
DesignGolden vertical zig-zag offset to hoist dividing blue and red, with a bull's head in the centre.
Designed byThomas Keogh
David Smith

The flag of Birmingham is the flag of the city of Birmingham in England. A flag for the city that is freely flyable by the community was adopted following a public competition in 2015.[1] It is distinct from the flag flown exclusively by Birmingham City Council which is a banner of arms derived from the city's coat of arms. A competition to design a new flag for public use was held during early 2015 with 470 proposed designs being entered into the competition.

Banner of arms of Birmingham

The successful entry was announced on 23 July 2015 and was designed by 11 year old Thomas Keogh and David Smith. It takes the form of a yellow bull's head, recalling Birmingham's Bull Ring, placed on a red field with an abstract yellow letter "B" on blue (the blue representing the cities expansive canal network) at the hoist which, when placed on its side, forms the Roman numeral "M" (1000) representing Birmingham's epithet "City of a Thousand Trades".[2] The colour and design of the flag echo those of the coat of arms.

  1. ^ Elkes, Neil (23 July 2015). "Bully for Birmingham: People's flag competition winner announced". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Birmingham Flag | Free official image and info | UK Flag Registry". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 9 July 2021.