We'd like to use analytics cookies to understand which symbols people look up, so we know what to research next. They are not used for advertising and we set none of them unless you say yes. What we store.
Red-and-yellow, red, black-and-white chequered — and the one that is not a warning.
Also known as: Lifeguard flags, Flags on a beach, Red and yellow flag
A small standardised set flown at lifeguarded beaches. The pair worth knowing is red-and-yellow, which marks where to swim, against plain red, which means do not enter the water — the first is permission and the second prohibition, and they are adjacent on the same beach.
A standardised set of beach flags under ISO 20712: red over yellow marks the lifeguarded bathing area, plain red prohibits entering the water, and black-and-white quarters mark the area reserved for craft.
United Kingdom and Ireland · Contexts: Public information
Red over yellow is a permission and not a warning, which is the reverse of what the colours suggest to a reader used to hazard signage. It marks the safest water on the beach.
Two red flags together, or a single plain red flag, are the prohibition. Red over yellow is where to go in.
Black-and-white quarters mark water set aside for surfboards and other craft, where swimming is not permitted — again a separation of uses rather than a hazard warning.
Colours and meanings differ between countries. A purple flag marks dangerous marine life in parts of the United States and Australia and has no standing in the British set.
Read the beach's own sign board. The set is not international.
Rectangular flags on poles at the water's edge: one divided horizontally red over yellow, one plain red, one quartered in black and white.