SEPTEMBER 25, 2025 — In Washington, six finalist designs have been selected in Vancouver’s city flag competition, narrowing the field from 138 public submissions.
“Each finalist tells a different story about who we are as a community,” said Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, according to Clark County Today.
The selection process was led by the Vancouver Flag Committee, which reviewed each submission anonymously using design principles established by the North American Vexillological Association.
Alongside four individual finalists, the committee combined elements from multiple submissions to create two composite designs, giving credit to the original designers who contributed to them.
Community feedback is now an important part of the process. Residents are invited to share their impressions of the finalist flags through the city’s online portal until October 9. While the feedback opportunity is not a formal vote, city officials say it will guide the committee as they prepare a final recommendation on which design should move forward.
On October 4 at 10 a.m., Vancouver will hold a flag-raising event at City Hall, where each finalist flag will be flown on the flagpole. Designers have been invited to attend and help raise their work, giving residents a chance to experience how each design looks when displayed in its intended setting.
The committee plans to make its final recommendation by the end of October, after which the Vancouver City Council is expected to adopt the new flag design through a resolution in November. Once approved, the city will host a public presentation to officially unveil the new flag.
The effort comes more than 30 years after Vancouver’s first flag was adopted in 1993, a design that has been criticized as dated, cluttered, and not easily recognizable.
Image: City of Vancouver
