Fiji to ditch the Union Jack.

Fiji set to ditch the Union Jack. Image by Michael Coghlan / CC BY-SA 2.0

Fiji’s Prime Minister Bainimarama announced a national competition to design a new flag for Fiji to celebrate its 45th anniversary of independence this October. He said it was ‘time to dispense with the colonial symbols’ and replace the flag with a new design that ‘reflects Fiji’s position in the world today as a modern and truly independent nation state’. Bainimarama was elected PM in 2014 in Fiji’s first elections in eight years. Only four former British colonies still retain the Union Jack as a national symbol: Australia, New Zealand, Tuvalu and Fiji. Read more: bbc.co.uk