The iconic Blue Flag is one of the world's most recognized voluntary awards for beaches, marinas and sustainable boat tourism operators.
To qualify for the Blue Flag, a series of strict environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria must be met and maintained.
The Blue Flag Programme was first implemented at national level in France in 1985. With the declaration of 1987 as the Year of the Environment in the European Union, the campaign was transferred to the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) to promote safe swimming areas in the EU, taking it to an international level.
While initially implemented in EU member states, countries outside the EU began to be accepted as FEE members from 1992 onwards.
Education: At the core and ideal of the Blue Flag is encouraging the public to connect with their environment and become more knowledgeable about their surroundings and nature.
Information: Informing visitors about their location is an important part of the Blue Flag Programme. This allows people to navigate comfortably and learn more about local flora and fauna.
Monitoring: Comprehensive field control visits and regular interim inspections play an encouraging role in meeting the criteria.
Management: The consistency in meeting the criteria that makes the Blue Flag reliable worldwide is achieved through the Local Blue Flag Coordinator and Blue Flag Representatives.
Safety: The operator/owner of a Blue Flag awarded site must ensure that safety measures for workers, the public and the environment in the awarded area are complete.
The Blue Flag is currently implemented in 50 countries worldwide, including 30 in Europe.