United Arab Emirates Flags – UAE Flag, Bunting & Hand Flags

The UAE flag: a red bar and three horizontal bands

The flag of the United Arab Emirates is a vertical red bar at the hoist, one quarter of the length, with three equal horizontal bands of green, white and black filling the fly. It was adopted on 2 December 1971, the day the federation of six emirates was formed, with Ras Al Khaimah joining early in 1972, and it was chosen from more than a thousand entries in a public competition won by a nineteen-year-old, Abdullah Mohammed Al Maainah, who later became a diplomat. The four colours are the pan-Arab colours drawn from the line of thirteenth-century poetry by Safi al-Din al-Hilli, green for the fertile land, white for peace and honesty, black for the defeat of enemies and strength of mind, and red for the courage and unity of the emirates; the red bar is also the colour of the older flags of the individual Trucial States. The ratio is 1:2. Our United Arab Emirates flag keeps the red bar at the correct quarter width and the three bands equal, which matters because the near-identical flags of Kuwait, Sudan and Jordan use the same colours in different arrangements.

National Day and Flag Day

National Day on 2 December, celebrating the union of 1971, is the main occasion and is preceded by Flag Day on 3 November, introduced in 2013, when the flag is raised across the country at 11am and on Emirati premises abroad; Commemoration Day on 30 November honours those who have died in service. In Britain the flag appears at the embassy’s National Day reception, at the Emirati student societies in London, Manchester, Cardiff and the military academies, and at the many business events that connect the two countries, from Emirates and Etihad to the DP World stand at trade shows. Sport adds the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that closes the Formula 1 season, Godolphin and Sheikh Mohammed’s horses at Royal Ascot and Newmarket, the national football team’s Asian Cup final of 1996 and its 1990 World Cup appearance, the UAE Team Emirates cycling squad and the Abu Dhabi T10 and UAE-hosted cricket. A large British expatriate population in Dubai and Abu Dhabi means the flag is also bought by returning families and by schools with Gulf links.

Sizes and grades

The UAE flag is stocked in 20x12in, 3ft x 2ft, 5ft x 3ft and 8ft x 5ft. Flagtex is a printed woven polyester for a reception, an exhibition stand or a few weeks on a pole; DuraFlag is the knitted heavyweight with a double-stitched hem for a pole flown all year. 5ft x 3ft is the pole and office-front size, 3ft x 2ft the window or wall bracket, 8ft x 5ft the stage or hall backdrop, 20x12in the car or hand pole. Both grades have a sewn header and brass eyelets; the DuraFlag can be supplied with clips or rope and toggle.

UAE bunting

United Arab Emirates bunting is sold in 3m and 9m lengths of rectangular polyester pennants printed with the flag and sewn to a tape. 3m dresses a reception desk or a doorway; 9m runs round an exhibition stand, a majlis tent or a school hall for National Day. It is weatherproof and lengths join end to end. Plain red, green, white and black from the bunting range extend a run.

Hand flags and table flags

UAE hand flags on wooden sticks come in 9x6in and 18x12in for receptions, airport welcomes and school events. The UAE table flag is a 6x4in flag on a base for a desk, the 9x6in wooden table flag and the 18x12in large wooden table flag suit a boardroom or a stand, and the sleeved satin table flag is for a formal conference table. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait are under world flags.

UAE flag FAQs

Popular in this collection

• United Arab Emirates Flag (20x12in to 8x5ft, 2 grades)from £6.99
• UAE Bunting (3m or 9m)from £9.98
• UAE Hand Flagsfrom £5.99
• UAE Table Flag with Basefrom £1.98
• UAE Satin Table Flagfrom £5.00