Blue Flag
The iconic Blue Flag is one of the world’s most recognised voluntary awards for beaches, marinas, and sustainable boating tourism operators. In order to qualify for the Blue Flag, a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety, and accessibility criteria must be met and maintained.
Central to the ideals of the Blue Flag programme is the aim of connecting the public with their surroundings and encouraging them to learn more about their environment. As such, environmental education activities must be offered and promoted in addition to a permanent display of information relevant to the site in terms of biodiversity, ecosystems and environmental phenomena.
On the map below you can see the Blue Flag sites awarded around the world. If you wish to see more detail about the sites, and filter them according to your needs (access for the disabled, type of beach, type of boating activity, etc.) we recommend you visit the custom made maps for beaches, marinas and boats.
We are #RunningOutofTime!
Join us in supporting Running Out of Time, a 7,767 km non-stop relay from Glasgow, Scotland (Host of COP26) to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt (Host of COP27). 732 stages, 38 days and 18 countries, this is the longest EVER relay in the name of climate action!
Starting on September 30th, runners, cyclists and sailors will work together to deliver the relay baton containing a powerful climate message to the decision makers at COP27 on November 6th.
There are plenty of exciting ways to get involved – sign up to run a stage, get your local municipality, marina and tour boat companies on board, support the message or join the Virtual Run on November 5th!
This year, the Blue Flag programme is celebrating its 35th anniversary, as it started back in 1987.
Sites that are part of the Blue Flag network all over the world are celebrating together the 35 years during which the programme has been continuously evolving and increasing its efforts to provide environmental education, to ensure the protection of the marine environment and human health, to improve accessibility, and to implement safety worldwide.
Make sure to follow us on our social media and take part in the celebrations with the hashtag #BlueFlag35th
Blue Flag proudly contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals. You can read more about our efforts by clicking on the SDGs here and download our publication below.