The flag of Shetland is a white or silver Nordic cross on a blue background. The flag uses the colours of the flag of Scotland, but in the form of the Nordic cross in order to symbolise Shetland's historical and cultural ties with Scandinavia. The official recommended colour of the flag of Scotland is Pantone 300,[2] which implies that this would be appropriate for the Shetland flag too, though the Flag Institute lists the colour as a similar Pantone 286.[1] It was created by Roy Grønneberg and Bill Adams in 1969, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the transfer of the islands from Norway in the Kalmar Union to Scotland and the 500 years before as part of Norway.[3]
The flag is widely used privately by Shetlanders both on land and sea and is now seen as a symbol of the Shetland identity. In 2007 a "Shetland Flag Day" was introduced by the council, who hope the day will be used to "celebrate all things Shetland".[4] After almost forty years of unofficial use, the flag was formally granted by the Lord Lyon King of Arms,[1] the heraldic authority of Scotland, on 1 February 2005,[5] in time for the Island Games in July 2005 in Shetland.[6]
The flag is practically identical to the former unofficial national flag of Iceland (the Hvítbláinn) in use by Icelandic nationalist activists from 1897 until 1915, when it was in part abandoned due to its similarity to the Greek jack and the Swedish flag, which critics reasoned would be hard to tell apart at sea, a major issue in a time of war. The white and blue is still used by the Icelandic Youth Association, nationalists and at political events.
^ abcd"Shetland - The Flag Institute". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
^"St Andrew & the Saltire, the Scottish Flag". www.visitscotland.com. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
^Shetland Islands (United Kingdom)
^Article from shetlandtoday on Shetland Flag Day
^Shetland’s flag now official[permanent dead link]
^IGA – Games Profile 2001 Archived 2007-10-17 at the Wayback Machine
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. It is the northernmost region...
1900. A very similar design has subsequently been adopted as the flagofShetland. A flag proposed by Magnús Þórðarson in 1914 On 17 June 1944, the day Iceland...
authority of Scotland, due to similarity with other national flags; as well as the flagof the Kalmar Union. The former flagof Orkney FlagofShetland Nordic...
"Rutland". UK Flag Registry. The Flag Institute. "Shetland". UK Flag Registry. The Flag Institute. Enrolled by the Lord Lyon on the Public Register of All Arms...
list offlags that are used exclusively in Scotland. Other flags used in Scotland, as well as the rest of the United Kingdom can be found at list of British...
Caithness flagstone. Flagof Orkney FlagofShetlandFlagof Scotland List of Scottish flags Nordic Cross Flag "Caithness". British County Flags. 2 February 2016...
as well as flags for the non-Scandinavian Shetland and Orkney. The flagof the Netherlands is the oldest tricolour. Its three colours of red, white and...
in Guilt, Duncan Hunter in Shetland, Bruno Jenkins in Casualty, Detective Finney in Psychoville, DCC Mike Dryden in Line of Duty, Colin Osborne in Unforgotten...
British archipelagos ofShetland and Orkney. "Forordning om Coffardi-Skibes og Commis-Farernes samt de octrojerede Compagniers Skibes Flag og Giøs, samt Vimpeler...
UK area is landed at Sullom Voe Terminal in the Shetland Islands. Associated gas flows via the FLAGS pipeline to St Fergus Gas Terminal. The North Sea...
a list offlagsof states, territories, former, and other geographic entities (plus a few non-geographic flags) sorted by their combinations of dominant...
History ofShetland concerns the subarctic archipelago ofShetland in Scotland. The early history of the islands is dominated by the influence of the Vikings...
The West ofShetland Pipeline (WOSP) is a pipeline system which transports natural gas from three offshore fields in the West ofShetland area to Sullom...
Norse: hrafnsmerki [ˈhrɑvnsˌmerke]; Middle English: hravenlandeye) was a flag, possibly totemic in nature, flown by various Viking chieftains and other...
Deception Island is in the South Shetland Islands close to the Antarctic Peninsula with a large and usually "safe" natural harbor, which is occasionally...
6 February 2021. "Support for businesses - Island Equivalent Payment". Shetland Islands Council. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021. from 28 December...
of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles Solar eclipse of 1 May 1185 Baha'i Faith in Orkney The other independent-run councils are Shetland and Comhairle...
Scotland has around 900 offshore islands, most of which are to be found in four main groups: Shetland, Orkney, and the Hebrides, sub-divided into the...
1915 to 8 October 1917. Promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral he was then appointed Flag Officer, Shetlands in October 1917. During the First World War...
List offlags inscribed with Christian symbolism This list exclusively includes the official flagsof administrative bodies or territorial jurisdictions...
notably the Hebrides, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. Scotland is the most mountainous constituent country of the UK, the Highlands to the north and...
an Insular Celtic language. At its height, it may have been spoken from Shetland down to Fife, but it was pushed back as Scots and Anglo-Saxons invaded...
All") is a type of fire festival held annually from January to March in various communities in Shetland, Scotland, to mark the end of the Yule season...
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