It’s as instantly recognisable as the flag of Amsterdam (three white crosses on a black and red banner) or as widespread as the City of London flag (a St George’s Cross with a red sword in the top left corner), but the flag of Birmingham captures the spirit of our city. Seeing as few UK cities or towns have an official flag – the likes of Poole, St Albans and York are among those that do – we wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t know what it looked like!
It’s important to note that the flag of Birmingham is different from the banner of arms flying from the flagpole of Birmingham City Council in Victoria Square. This ‘civic flag’ was adopted in 1977, reflecting the city’s status as a new metropolitan borough. It comes from the coat of arms of the de Birmingham family, who first established the area as a market town in the 12th century.
Permission to fly this flag is rarely given, however, and is only flown from public buildings. So a competition was set up to give the community of Birmingham a flag of its own. The winners were announced on July 23, 2015. Since then, anyone is free to fly the flag of Birmingham, which was designed by two 11-year-old boys, Thomas Keogh and David Smith. And we think it perfectly captures the spirit of Birmingham.
What does the flag of Birmingham represent?
Registered with the UK Flag Institute, the Birmingham flag is a lot more interesting than it appears at first glance (although we’ll say it is also aesthetically pleasing). The sight of a bull’s head at the centre should surprise no one – representing the city’s love of bulls and the Bullring, obviously. But it is the abstract letter B, running down the left-hand side, where things really get clever.
The B obviously is a direct reference to the city’s name, but the colour blue also represents the importance of Birmingham’s canals. Outside of the blue B, is a bordering golden zig-zag shape (said to represent the closed locks on a canal), which if turned on its side becomes an M: the Roman letter for 1000 and a nod to Birmingham’s nickname as the City of a Thousand Trades.
Overall, the colours and arrangement are also a nod to Birmingham City Council’s banner flag and the historic arms of the de Birmingham family. But unlike those, the flag of Birmingham should feel extra special to the local community. A flag for the people, to be flown by the people!