A campaign has begun to replace the current Liverpool flag with a new one designed by a member of the public.
The movement is being headed by Tom Williamson, founder of Flag for Liverpool, after he began to look for the city’s current official flag.
Williams said: “The current flag is just the coat of arms on a white background, which in flag design – vexillography – is a big no-no.”
On discovering it, Mr Williams designed his own flag to see if he could do better, after which he presented it to an Ignite Talk.
Ignite Talks are a part of a group called Ignite Liverpool, a local service that give people a platform to speak about issues or events that they think deserve to be heard.
“It went down really well, so I thought I’d organise a flag design competition,” he said.
Flag for Liverpool already has a number of submissions, including his own, which are currently being worked on. Williams said he had a straightforward mission statement:
- Put the new designs on the Flag for Liverpool website.
- Write to Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson in the hope that the council will recognise the competition and accept the winning design as the new flag.
- Publicise the competition.
Williams’ own flag submission for the contest reads: “The gold Liverbird represents the wealth and prosperity of Liverpool. The gold colour is also found on the flag of Lancashire, and I’ve chosen it to represent Liverpool’s historic ties with that county.
“Although the red and blue are there to represent the football teams, the red and blue are taken from the Union Jack to represent the British connection. I’ve placed the blue on the left to represent the location of the River Mersey in relation to the city.”
“I’ve been interested in vexillology since I was a child. It was an interest I picked up from my grandfather. I find that when you ask questions about flags – ‘why are they the colour they are?’ or ‘what does that cross mean?’ – they start telling you stories.”
Williams added: “I believe that a city of the size, culture and vibrancy of Liverpool deserves its own flag, so I’m running a competition to find one.”
To design and submit your own flag for the contest or to find out how to help out with the campaign, visit flagforliverpool.org