--- description: Fiji will hold a national competition to redesign the nation's flag in an effort to shed several symbols of its colonial past title: Fiji to Remove Union Jack From National Flag image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc727f5256dd33adc/69877d560b72e3184c6dd7be/138130711.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Fiji](/tag/fiji/) ## Fiji Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Fiji to Redesign National Flag  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 3, 2015 1:48 PM CUT  Fijian flags are waved during pool play at the Rugby Sevens tournament in Wellington, New Zealand on February 0, 2012. Fijian flags are waved during pool play at the Rugby Sevens tournament in Wellington, New Zealand on February 0, 2012.Marty Melville—AFP/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 3, 2015 1:48 PM CUT Fiji will hold a national competition to redesign the nation’s flag in an effort to shed several symbols of its colonial past, the island nation’s Prime Minister said on Tuesday. The current flag includes a British Union Jack in the upper left-hand corner and a standard bearing stalks of sugar cane, a bundle of bananas, and a lion wearing a crown. “What does this have to do with us,” asked Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, [according](https://uk.news.yahoo.com/fiji-remove-union-jack-flag-pm-070759799.html#FSBx67 "undefined") to _Agence France-Presse_. “The new flag should reflect Fiji’s position in the world today as a modern and truly independent nation state.” The redesigned flag, he said, would be unveiled on Oct. 11, commemorating the 45th anniversary of the island nation’s independence from British rule. \[[_AFP_](https://uk.news.yahoo.com/fiji-remove-union-jack-flag-pm-070759799.html#FSBx67 "undefined")\] ### Finding Prince Charming: When Commoners Marry Royalty  Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Mary Elizabeth Donaldson drive off after their engagement at Copenhagen's Amalienborg Palace on October 8, 2013. 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Lennart Nilsson—Bettmann/Corbis ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3693526/fiji-flag-union-jack-british-colonial-symbol/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3693526/fiji-flag-union-jack-british-colonial-symbol/"},"headline":"Fiji to Redesign National Flag","datePublished":"2015-02-03T13:48:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:53.172Z","description":"Will no longer have Union Jack or other symbols of colonization","url":"https://time.com/3693526/fiji-flag-union-jack-british-colonial-symbol/","keywords":["Fiji","Britain","colonialism"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc727f5256dd33adc/69877d560b72e3184c6dd7be/138130711.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc727f5256dd33adc/69877d560b72e3184c6dd7be/138130711.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Fijian flags are waved during pool play","caption":"Fijian flags are waved during pool play","creditText":"Marty Melville—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/fiji/","name":"Fiji"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3693526/fiji-flag-union-jack-british-colonial-symbol/","name":"Fiji to Redesign National Flag"}}]}] ```