Barbados Flag Etiquette & Use: Display, Respect and National Emblem Rules
Key public guidance on precedence, respectful treatment and protection of Barbados’s national emblems.
How is the Barbados flag displayed with other flags?
Government educational guidance states that when the national flag is flown with other flags, it should be the first hoisted and the last lowered.
Respectful treatment
The flag is treated as a national emblem rather than ordinary decoration. Guidance emphasizes maintaining its dignity when displayed alongside other flags and during public ceremonies.
National emblems are legally protected
Barbados government educational material notes that mutilating, cutting, tearing or otherwise defacing national emblems is an offence.
Independence and national ceremonies
The flag’s most important historic ceremony was its first raising on November 30, 1966, when the Union Jack was lowered at independence. It remains central to national observances and civic events.
