Antigua and Barbuda - Current

The national flag of Antigua and Barbuda was adopted on 27th February 1967, and was designed by a Nationally acclaimed artist and sculptor, Sir Reginald Samuel who at the time, not knighted, was an art teacher in an Antiguan high school. In 1966, a national flag design competition was held for the occasion of attaining Independence. There were over 600 entries, with Mr Samuel winning the first prize of $500 for the best design. He had entered the very last minute before the deadline, and made the design in only about half an hour. He rushed to buy an envelope to get the entry to the Administration building in time.

The flag consists of a red field, with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of black (top), light blue, and white, with a yellow rising sun in the black band.

The 7 point golden sun symbolises the dawning of a new era. The colours meanings are, the black for the soil and African heritage of the people, the blue for hope, the red for the life blood of slave forefathers and the dynamism of the people. The successive colouring of yellow, blue, and white (from the sun down) also stands for the sun, sea, and sand. The "V" formed by the red borders represent "Victory at last." It has been suggested that the seven points of the sun should represent the six parishes plus the sister island, Barbuda, though the designer himself did not have this in mind."

The ratio of the flag is 2:3. The red is apparently the same as the red of the British ensigns (Pantone 186c). Blue is somewhat lighter then the standard British ensign blue (Pantone 300c) and yellow is approximated with Pantone 116c.