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Croatia - Sport Flags

Croatian Olympic Committee
Football Supporters Flag
2nd Military World Games (MWG)
NK Osijek
NK Pula
PK Jadran
Beach Flags

See also:

Croatian Olympic Committee

image by Željko Heimer, 31 March 2001

At <www.hoo.tel.hr>, there is an official text concerning the flag and the emblem of the Olympic Croatian Committee, but I didn't understand the text. . I don't know how the flag looks like, probably white with the logo at the top of the page.
Pascal Vagnat, 8 December 1998

Usually they call themselves in English "Croatian Olympic Committee" - COC in short. Let me see what is there to provide some translation. It is "Pravilnik o zastavi i znaku Hrvatskog olimpijskog odbora" - Rules on flag and symbol of COC.
Art. 6 detrmines the flag: "The flag of COC is determined with COC Graphic Standards Manual. The flag background is white with centrally set COC symbol. The flag format [i.e. size, ratio. ZH] is defined by standards set for the flags. The flag colour is also determined by the COC Graphic Standards Manual."
Art. 7 prescribes that COC flag should always be used with the flag of the Republic of Croatia.
Art. 8. defined the COC symbol: "The basic graphic standard of COC visual identity is COC symbol approved by the International Olympic Commettee on 24-APR-1992 (letter no 2110/92/jm9). The symbol is unique grapic presentation of five olympic rings, six red and three white squares and text "Hrvatski olimpijski odbor" on white background bordered in shape of a shield."

I'll check the flag on COC building in next few days, I use to pass over there often and the flags are always hoisted on it (left to right IOC, HR, COC). It seems that national olympic symbols (or any other using olympic rings) should be approved by IOC.
Another point that I have regarding this article is "three white squares", which are very often wrongly made transparent, so to say, and symbol under rings consists only of six red squares. The same error is made also on the COC page with this Rules (sic!).

Art 15. determined that this Rules becomes vaild with the day of their acceptance, and that is 10-SEP-1993. Possibly similar set of rules was adopted earlier, and these rules did not chance the essence of it, regarding the look of the flag and symbol. In any case, I believe that the symbol is in use from 1991, but this is based on my memory.
Željko Heimer, 8 December 1998

I was talking recently with some people involved with the work on the Croatian Olympic Commeette logo (and flag) almost a decade ago. I was told some things that might be of interest and maybe worth of further investigation.
The story is so: the logo of COC that was initially adopted consisted of the five Olympic rings above the red sqaures in three rows 3, 2, 1. When this logo was sent to International Olympic Committee for approval, it was turned down, with explanation that the Olymipc rings should not be bigger then one third of the national Olympic logo. After that the logo was enclosed into red bordered white shield with blue inscription reading the name of the COC, and such was adopted and approved. As the flag is a white sheet with the logo in the middle, the consequences to the COC flag are obvious.
Željko Heimer, 21 October 2000

The "de facto" flag that is used much more often (and hoisted dayly on the COC headquarters in Zagreb) is a variation which is, I believe the design turned down by IOC (due to the size of the Olympic logo). HOO stands for "Hrvatski olimpijski odbor" - Croatian Olympic Committee.
Željko Heimer, 31 March 2001

Handflag at 28th Olympiad Opening

image Zachary Harden and Željko Heimer, 17 August 2004

Flag that was used by the Croats when they walked into Athens last Friday night.
Zachary Harden, 17 August 2004

Football Supporters Flag

image by Željko Heimer

Chequy flag with one cheque being chequed again was used by football supporter during European chapionship England 1996.
Željko Heimer

image by Željko Heimer

On the TV there were reportages from everywhere that our team was moving around, and that special one I saw when they came back from a game (3:0 win over Germany) to the city that was host them during the World Cup 98 - Vittel. The city organized magnificent recepion, and the players were driving with turist train arround the city celebrating. On the train, and on some other places arround, there was a remarkable flag, obviously used as decoration rather then supposed to be real national flag. I consisted of 5 stripes, the inner three being the Croatian national flag, while
the outer two were made of chequy fields.
Željko Heimer , 9 July 1998

.I might add that this same flag pattern was used soon afterwards, as Croatia gained the thrid place at the Cup, also there were post stamps (small sheet of 4) showing the victorious team holding such flags . It was used again, I believe in several other sporting events as a flag that the supporters used.
Željko Heimer , 9 August 1999

2nd Military World Games (MWG)

2nd Military World Games (MWG)
by Željko Heimer, 20 August 1999

The International Military Sports Council (CISM) is a military organization comaprable with the Olimpic organization. Their flag consist of a white, blue bordered flag with the CISM logo in the middle. The logo consists a globe surounded with a band bearing the name of the organization, behind is is a composition consisting of five red rings, a downpointing sword, a golden laurel wreat and shord points. It seems that only the vertical version is used.
The flag was used in Zagreb lately, in connection with the 2nd Military World Games (MWG), held from 8 to 17 August 1999. The blue bordered flag seems to be official, but as far as I have noticed, it was only used on opening and closing ceremonies, while on other places (stadiums etc. and in city) the simple white "logo on bedsheet" flags were used.
The 2nd MWG used a white "logo on bedsheet" is consisting of two red squares and five "3D" rings. Read more about CISM and 2 MWG on thier site <www.2svi.hr> and <www.2svi.hr/eng/02-cism.htm>.
Željko Heimer , 20 August 1999

NK Osijek

image by Željko Heimer , 29 December 2000

A football (soccer) club from Osijek, Croatia - NK Osijek. (NK means "nogometni klub", i.e. FC). The club emblem is obviously based on the Coat of Arms of Osijek and Baranja County, probably a bit overmuch according to some heradical tastes, but such practice seem not to be unusual in Croatia (many sport clubs have emblems very similar or equal to the city or county they are from). The flag is BWB tricolour. The colour combination of blue-white is the club colours. Not unexpected, the supporters use the two colours in unnumerable combinations as flags and weavers used on stadium.
Source: Croatian TV news, 28 December 2000, report from the annual assembly of the club. Emblem taken from Kohorta (supporters) pages at <www.nogomet.com/kohorta>.
Željko Heimer, 29 December 2000

NK Pula

image by Pavel, 3 August 2006

Do you have information about this flag seen in a photo of "Istra" (Pula,Croatia) football fans?
Pavel, 3 August 2006

It is definitely green and yellow, and probably have some aditional emblems in the yellow part. This is (one of the) flag of the supporters of the footbal (soccer) club from Pula named nowdays NK Pula Staro Ceško (previously known as NK Pula 1856, NK Pula, Nk Istra, NK Uljanik etc.), since 2004 in the First Croatian League. The supporters group is named Demoni Pula.
Obviously other flags are in use including green yellow and black combinations, as is visible on the same photo.
Željko Heimer, 3 August 2006

PK Jadran

The flag of the swim club "plivacki klub JADRAN" from Split can be seen at <www.pk-jadran.hr> .
Dov Gutterman, 22 January 2002

I don't see any connection to civic (or other) symbols. Of course, choice of colours red-white-blue is not coincidence. The flag looks much like sailing club burgee, and I would almost think that there must be some such yacht club around. (On the other hand, there is YC Split, using entirely different flag)
Željko Heimer, 31 January 2002

Beach Flags

While visiting Croatian coast these days I noticed that there are many red over yellow flags hoisted on various beaches (and I visited a few in the last few days). I wandered what these are and finally found in a security brochure here:

image by Marcus Schmöger, 24 September 2001

- red flag - "don't enter the water - danger"

image by Marcus Schmöger, 24 September 2001

- red-yellow flag - "between two red-yellow flags is area under lifeguards surveillance - the area safe for swimming"

I am sure that the exact "names" of this flags would be a bit simpler - as this seems to be educational brochure rather then normative.
Of course, one would ask where these flags come from and what's the use of them if nobody knows what they are - I have searched quite extensivly around beaches and in hotel lobbies if there is somewhere a poster explaining these flags, but I found nothing. Also, I am not aware of any regulation requiering this flags in Croatia (but maybe there is?), in any case, it seems to me that this is a news from this summer - at least I noticed these not before.
It seems that they are related to the flags used in Britain. The last paragraphs on that page suggest that they may be some EU directive standardizing this two flags in the whole EU!?
Željko Heimer, 16 August 2007

Flags are not a frequent thing to spot in Croatia, apart from the FEEE blue flag indicating the quality, that is present on very many beaches in Croatia.
Željko Heimer, 11 September 2007

See also: Beach flags

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