This week we had this fun story brought to our attention. Meet the 4 metre high Lego flag of Gibraltar. The flag stands at a large 4m high by 8m long – that’s larger than a standard 6-yard flag! The construction took 393, 857 carefully selected Lego bricks to depict the flag colours in brilliant accuracy.
The totally unique flag can be found at the John Mackintosh Hall, which is a cultural centre housing the public library as well as exhibition rooms and theatre. The Lego flag was presented to the people of Gibraltar by the Self Determination for Gibraltar Group. It was originally constructed by the people of Gibraltar in the lobby of the house of an assembly during the national week in 1995.
The flag of Gibraltar is simply an elongated banner of the arms, which is based on the Coat of Arms of Gibraltar granted by Royal Warrant from Queen Isabella of Castile in 1502. This flag is recognised and flown throughout Gibraltar, occasionally alongside the Union Jack and the flag of Europe. The flag is generally most likely to be spotted on the Parliament Building and the frontier with Spain, at the top of The Rock.
Something which makes this flag particularly unusual is it is one of the very few British territories which does not feature the Union Jack on the flag – or a British Ensign. The castle itself is not specific to a building in Gibraltar, it simply represents the fortress of Gibraltar. The accompanying key is said to symbolise the fortress’ significance as Gibraltar was seen to be the key to Spain by the Moors and Spanish and later as the key to the Mediterranean by the British.
