Flag of the Isle of Wight
 | |
| Name | County flag |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 3:5 |
| Adopted | January 2009 |
| Designed by | John Graney |
 | |
| Variant flag of the Isle of Wight | |
| Name | County council flag |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Design | Castle and three gold anchors on blue background |
The Flag of the Isle of Wight was adopted and registered in January 2009. It shows a diamond shape (the island) hovering over ocean waves. The indentation on the top corner of the diamond is symbolic of the River Medina. The largest river on the island, the Medina begins near the centre of the island and flows northward to the northernmost point of the island, where it joins with the Solent, a design that has been artistically added to the flag.
History
In 2007 an Isle of Wight Flag Committee was founded to create a flag for the Isle of Wight. The Committee ran a public competition in association with the County Press newspaper to design a flag for the island. They received over 350 entries. These were whittled down to a shortlist of four designs which the public then had an opportunity to vote on. [1]
The winning design was by John Graney. It was registered by the Flag Institute on 9 January 2009. Although the Isle of Wight is not a "historical county" in accordance with the Flag Institute's preferred criteria, nevertheless the flag has been described as a "county flag", reflecting the island's distinct identity.
In April 2009 the new flag was officially launched and replaced the older design on top of County Hall.[2]
Isle of Wight Council flag
Before this competition, the Council flag was the only popularly known flag for the island. The Council flag is taken from the Isle of Wight Arms granted in 1938. The castle featured represents Carisbrooke Castle, the seat of historical Governors. The blue surrounding field and three gold anchors represent the Island status and maritime history.
The Council flag can only be used by the Council on buildings of local government. Therefore, lacking any other official local alternatives, until the new island flag was registered, the Island's team at events such as the International Island Games used only the Union Flag, or on occasion, St George's Cross.