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# Disability flag

##

Last modified: 2026-08-15 by zachary harden
Keywords: disability flag | international organization |
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image by Ivan Sache, 2 November 2018

- About the flag
- Variant
- Disability Pride

See also:

- International Organizations

## About the Flag

The flag aimed at representing all persons with disabilities was inscribed in July 2017 on the (Spanish) Register of Intellectual Property and presented to the UN on 3 December 2017, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The flag is horizontally divided gold-silver-bronze. The three noble ores represent the three categories of disability: physical, psychic, and sensory. The three colors also refer to the medals used in sports competitions.
The flag was designed by Eros Recio, from Valencia, the first professional dancer with Down syndrome.
https://www.levante-emv.com/comunitat-valenciana/2017/12/04/personas-discapacidad-bandera/1650467.html Levante EMV, 4 December 2017
https://www.eldiario.es/lapalmaahora/municipios/santa_cruz_de_la_palma/Bandera-Discapacidad-ondeara-Ayuntamiento-diciembre_0_830817800.html La Palma Ahora, 31 October 2018
http://www.rehatrans.com/noticias/las-bandera-de-la-discapacidad Rehatrans
Ivan Sache, 2 November 2018

## Variant

image by Tomislav Todorovic, 26 July 2026

A variation of this flag with different color shades - brighter gold, more grayish silver and "bronze" which looks more like something between copper and the color of red gold - has been used in North America since 2023. It first appeared in July 2023, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin , where it was carried at the annual Independence Day parade; the report [1] described the flag as "approved by the United Nations in 2017", so it was meant to be the same flag as designed by Eros Recio. The flag with the same color shades was hoisted in Canada, at the University of Prince Edward Island on 2023-12-03 - the International Day of Persons with Disabilities [2, 3]. The flag was used there again in 2024, as revealed by a photo published in a news report from 2025 [4]. The flags used at the two places differed mainly in their ratio, that of the one from Wisconsin being 3:5 and that of the one from Canada being 1:2.
Tomislav Todorovic, 26 July 2026

## Disability Pride

2019 flag; image by Miles Li, 12 July 2026

The Disability Pride Flags are the creations of American graphic artist Ann Magill. After a couple of proposed designs since 2016, Magill created the first 'official' version of the Disability Pride Flag, and released it into the public domain, on June 4, 2019. It is illustrated on Magill's flickr page (https://www.flickr.com/photos/capriuni/48000026338/), which comes with the following description: Disability Pride Flag A black flag diagonally crossed from the top of the hoist to the bottom of the fly by five parallel zigzag stripes of light blue, gold, white,red and green, with narrow borders of black between them. The symbolism: The Black Field: Mourning for those who've suffered and died from Ableist violence, and also rebellion. The Zigzag Band: How disabled people must move around and past barriers, and our creativity in doing so. The Five Colors: the variety of Disability, our needs and experiences (Mental Illness, Neurodiversity, Invisible and Undiagnosed Disabilities, Physical Disability, and Sensory Disabilities) The Parallel Stripes: Solidarity within the Disability Community, despite our differences.

2021 flag; image by Miles Li, 12 July 2026

Magill then created a second version of the Disability Pride Flag, and again released it into the public domain, on July 28, 2021, this time on Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Visually_Safe_Disability_Pride_Flag.png). The zigzag band is replaced with straight diagonal stripes, and most unusually the entire flag is now in desaturated colors. These changes are made in order to make the flag safer for people with visually-triggered disabilities. Both flags have been used, on the internet as well as in real life, to celebrate Disability Pride Month in July each year, which originally commemorates the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in July 1990, but is now an international observance.
Miles Li, 12 July 2026