Portugal Flags – Portuguese Flag, Bunting, Hand Flags & Madeira

Portugal flags: green, red and the armillary sphere

The Portuguese flag is a vertical bicolour of green at the hoist, taking two-fifths of the length, and red in the fly taking three-fifths, with the national coat of arms set over the boundary: a yellow armillary sphere carrying the white shield with its five blue escutcheons and seven castles, in a 2:3 proportion. It was adopted on 30 June 1911, eight months after the republican revolution of 5 October 1910 swept away the blue-and-white monarchy, with green chosen for hope and red for the blood of those who founded the republic. The sphere was the navigational instrument of the Age of Discovery and the badge of King Manuel I; the five small shields recall the five Moorish kings defeated by Afonso Henriques at Ourique in 1139 and the castles the fortresses taken from the Moors in the Algarve. Our Portugal flag prints the arms at full size and in their proper colours, which is where a cheap Portuguese flag usually gives itself away.

Portugal Day, the Seleção and the Portuguese community

Portugal Day on 10 June, the Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comunidades, is celebrated by the Portuguese communities of South Lambeth, Thetford, Jersey and across Britain with processions, folk groups and a long lunch; Republic Day on 5 October and Freedom Day on 25 April bring smaller flaggings. Football does the rest: a Portugal flag goes up in every Portuguese café from Stockwell to Great Yarmouth when the Seleção play a European Championship or World Cup match, and the Nations League and the European ties of Benfica, Porto and Sporting keep it busy between tournaments.

Which size Portuguese flag?

Take 5ft x 3ft for a café front, a 20ft telescopic pole or a club wall, where the arms are large enough to read; 3ft x 2ft for a balcony, a fishing boat or a classroom; and 8ft x 5ft for a church hall, a festival stage or a fixed pole. The header is sewn with eyelets on every size, with rope and toggle or clips on the DuraFlag.

Flagtex and DuraFlag grades

Flagtex is the printed-through woven polyester that makes a Portugal flag cheap enough to give away at a tournament screening and still show the arms on both faces. The Portugal DuraFlag is the daily flyer for a Portuguese consulate, delegation, school or club: 150gsm knitted polyester, double-stitched hems, reinforced header and UV-fast inks, in 3x2, 5x3 and 8x5ft with clips, plus a rope-and-toggle courtesy size.

Portugal bunting

Portugal bunting carries the full flag with its arms on each pennant, in rectangle or triangle cut, printed on weatherproof polyester and sewn to a strong tape so it can hang round a churrasqueira terrace, a pastelaria window or a Portugal Day marquee for the whole month of June.

Hand flags, table flags and Madeira

Portugal hand flags on wooden sticks come singly and in packs for parade routes, school Portuguese days and the fan park. The Portugal table flag with base suits a café counter, a consulate desk or a wine merchant, the satin Portugal table flag on a chrome base is the boardroom version, and the Portugal wooden table flag is the small gift. The Madeira flag — blue, gold and blue with the red Cross of Christ, the flag of the autonomous region since 1978 — is stocked in 5ft x 3ft and DuraFlag for Madeiran clubs and Jersey’s Madeiran community, and the Azores flag covers the other archipelago. Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde, the other Portuguese-speaking flags, are under world flags.

Portuguese flag FAQs

Popular in this collection

• Portugal Flag (3x2 to 8x5ft, 2 grades)from £6.99
• Portugal Buntingfrom £9.98
• Portugal Hand Flagspacks
• Portugal DuraFlagfrom £14.99
• Madeira Flagfrom £7.99
• Portugal Table Flag with Basedesk size