Flags of Salt Lake City
City emblem

Sego Flag
UseCity flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
Proportion5:3
AdoptedOctober 6, 2020; 5 years ago (2020-10-06)
Designed byArianna Meinking and Elio Kennedy-Yoon

There are four flags of Salt Lake City. The primary one, the Sego Flag, consists of two horizontal bars of blue and white with a sego lily in the canton. It was adopted in 2020 after a city-wide contest to replace a previous flag. The blue and white stripes symbolize the water and salt of the Great Salt Lake, on the shores of which the city stands. Additionally, the white recalls the Winter Olympics, which were held in Salt Lake City in 2002. Sego is the state flower of Utah, recognized for its resistance to arid climate and the importance of the plant's edible bulbs to Shoshone and Latter-day Saint pioneers. Three sego petals in the flag refer to the fact that Salt Lake City is the only state capital with a three-word name. The golden center of the sego is intended to symbolize the future of the city.[1] This is the fourth flag in the history of the city.

In May 2025, the city council approved mayor Erin Mendenhall's designs for three new city flags:

Each is identical to the flag it was based on, except for the addition of a sego lily in the canton.[4] The flags were adopted in response to a new state law restricting the flying of the flags they were based on.[5]

  • Sego Celebration Flag
    Sego Celebration Flag Design officially authorized to represent nation by government of that nation Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
  • Sego Belonging Flag
    Sego Belonging Flag Design officially authorized to represent nation by government of that nation Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
  • Sego Visibility Flag
    Sego Visibility Flag Design officially authorized to represent nation by government of that nation Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag

History

  • Reconstruction of the flag raised in city on 24 July 1849
    Reconstruction of the flag raised in city on 24 July 1849[6]
  • Second flag (1969–2006)
    Second flag (1969–2006)
  • Third flag (2006–2020)
    Third flag (2006–2020)

The first city flag was made in 1854 and was described as "elegant banner of this city whereon is inscribed 'Municipality, Order, Justice, G.S.L. city'."[7]

The second adopted city flag was designed in 1963 by J. Rulon Hales, the winner of a contest run by the Deseret News. The first version of the flag was made by art students from Highland High School and officially adopted for use on November 13, 1969.[8][9] It included seagulls, pioneers, a covered wagon, and the sun rising over the Wasatch Mountains in the middle of a white background.[8] The center was in the general shape of a beehive, which is a symbol of industry and relates to the founding of Salt Lake City and its Latter-day Saint heritage.[10]

Flags from the city's 1963 flag contest[11]

The third design of the flag was approved on October 4, 2006, by the Salt Lake City Council.[12] Rocky Anderson, the mayor of Salt Lake City at the time, had sponsored a contest in 2004 to redesign the flag. Anderson argued that the old flag was too exclusive, focused entirely on the city's Latter-day Saint heritage, and was "visually boring".[12]

The contest, which received more than 50 entries, did not produce any designs that the city council felt had the "symbolic visuals that could be associated with Salt Lake City".[13] They then formed a subcommittee to work with the mayor's office to create new designs for the flag.[13] The final design was approved with a 4–2 margin.[12]

In May 2020, the city government opened a two-month contest to redesign the flag with a $3,000 prize for the winning entry. The city received over 600 design entries, of which eight finalists were selected in July by the Flag Design Review Committee for public review.[14][15][1] The winning design, announced in September 2020, was created through the merger of two finalists created by Arianna Meinking and Elio Kennedy-Yoon from West High School.[14] The design features a sego lily, the Utah state flower, in the canton amidst horizontal fields of blue and white. It was sent to the city council for consideration with the endorsement of mayor Erin Mendenhall and adopted on October 6, 2020.[16][17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Salt Lake City Flag Design". SLC.gov. Salt Lake City. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Baitinger, Brooke (May 8, 2025). "Two US cities find loophole around Pride and Juneteenth flag bans. What to know". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  3. ^ Williams, Carter (June 8, 2025). "'This is about everybody': Love, support highlight annual Utah Pride Parade". KSLTV. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Baird, Addy; Semerad, Tony (May 6, 2025). "Salt Lake City may have found a way to avoid the state's ban on pride flags". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  5. ^ "Salt Lake City adopts four flags to represent residents, visitors" (Press release). Salt Lake City. May 6, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  6. ^ Hartvigsen, John M. (2012). "Utah's Mammoth Statehood Flag" (PDF). Raven. 19. North American Vexillological Association: 27–56. ISSN 1071-0043.
  7. ^ "New Year's Festival". Deseret News. January 11, 1855. p. 3. Retrieved February 5, 2025 – via Utah Digital Newspapers.
  8. ^ a b Purcell, John M.; Croft, James A.; Monahan, Rich (2003). American City Flags: 150 Flags from Akron to Yonkers (PDF). North American Vexillological Association. pp. 310–311. ISBN 978-0-9747728-0-6. OCLC 1011001515. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  9. ^ "City Commissioners Adopt Student-Made S.L. Flag". The Salt Lake Tribune. November 14, 1969. p. B2. Retrieved February 3, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  10. ^ Snyder, Brady (December 1, 2004). "Salt Lake gets 20 flag entries". Deseret News. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  11. ^ "Local Artist Wins S.L. Flag Contest". Deseret News. February 1, 1963. p. 21. Retrieved July 16, 2025 – via Utah Digital Newspapers.
  12. ^ a b c "New city flag shows Salt Lake skyline, Wasatch". Deseret News. October 7, 2006. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Snyder, Brady (February 4, 2005). "Salt Lake flag designs just don't wow City Council". Deseret News. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  14. ^ a b Larsen, Andy (September 24, 2020). "SLC Mayor Erin Mendenhall selects merged teen-designed flag for City Council consideration". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  15. ^ Stauffer, McKenzie (May 1, 2020). "Salt Lake City seeks artists to redesign city flag; deadline is June 30". KUTV. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  16. ^ Williams, Carter (September 24, 2020). "Salt Lake City mayor selects new city flag design; council to make final approval". KSL. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  17. ^ Curtis, Larry D. (October 7, 2020). "Salt Lake City adopts new flag". KUTV. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  • Official City flag website
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