Bolivia Flags – Bolivian Flag, Bunting & Hand Flags

The Bolivian flag: red, yellow and green

Bolivia flies a horizontal tricolour of red over yellow over green, a design fixed by decree in 1851 under President Manuel Isidoro Belzu and barely altered since. Red is read as the courage of the soldiers of the independence wars and the blood they gave, yellow as the mineral wealth of the Altiplano, from the silver of Potosí to the tin and lithium of today, and green as the fertile lowlands and the hope of the nation. Bolivia keeps a plain civil tricolour for everyday use and a state flag with the coat of arms, the Cerro Rico, the condor and the Andean alpaca, placed in the yellow band for government buildings. Since the 2009 constitution the Wiphala, the chequered seven-colour flag of the Andean peoples, has been raised beside it as a second national emblem. Our Bolivia flag reproduces the three bands in equal depth with a strong scarlet and a true emerald green so the tricolour is not mistaken for Lithuania or Ghana at a distance.

Flag Day, 6 August and La Verde

Bolivia has two August dates: Independence Day on 6 August, marking the declaration of 1825, and Día de la Bandera on 17 August, when schools and offices parade with the tricolour and the Wiphala side by side. Carnival in Oruro in February and Gran Poder in La Paz in late May or June are the colourful seasons, and the diablada dancers often carry the colours. In the UK the Bolivian community is centred on London, with 6 August dinners, folkloric dance groups performing at Latin American festivals in Southwark and Elephant and Castle, and the embassy in Eaton Square. On the pitch it is La Verde, the national side that won the Copa América at home in 1963 and reached the 1994 World Cup, playing at the Estadio Hernando Siles 3,600 metres above sea level, along with The Strongest and Bolívar in the Copa Libertadores.

Sizes, grades and fittings

The 5ft x 3ft is the all-purpose size for a pole, a balcony rail or a restaurant wall; the 3ft x 2ft fits a window, a bedroom or a market stall; the 8ft x 5ft makes a backdrop for a stage or a large fixed pole; and the 20x12in is the car and hand-pole size. Flagtex is the printed woven polyester for indoor use and a few weeks outdoors, DuraFlag is the knitted polyester with a double-stitched hem that lasts a full season on a mast. Both grades have a sewn header and two brass eyelets, and the DuraFlag can be supplied with clips or rope and toggle instead.

Bolivia bunting

Bolivia bunting is a run of rectangular tricolour pennants on a tape, offered in 3m and 9m lengths. A 3m length is right for a doorway, a buffet or a classroom display on 17 August; the 9m length dresses a hall, a marquee or a salteña stall for a festival. The pennants are polyester printed on both sides and shrug off a shower, so they can stay out for a weekend.

Hand flags and table flags

Bolivia hand flags on wooden sticks come in 9x6in and 18x12in, for parades, football matches and the 6 August reception. The Bolivia table flag is a 6x4in desk flag with a base for an office or a consulate counter, and the large wooden table flag at 18x12in suits a reception desk or a top table. Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay are all found under world flags.

Bolivian flag FAQs

Popular in this collection

• Bolivia Flag (20x12in to 8x5ft, Flagtex or DuraFlag)from £6.99
• Bolivia Bunting (3m or 9m)from £9.98
• Bolivia Hand Flags (9x6in, 18x12in)from £5.99
• Bolivia Table Flag 6x4in with Basefrom £1.98
• Bolivia Large Wooden Table Flagfrom £3.98