New Zealanders propose outlandish new national flag designs

When New Zealand announced it would choose its new national flag by referendum, it received a flood of design suggestions – more than 10,000 of them. Authorities have reduced the shortlist to just 40, from which citizens will for one. Some of the rejects, however, have gained fame online – some for their creativeness, others for their plain weirdness. Here are a few:

To comfort the many losers, the panel in charge of choosing the shortlist explained how the designs were chosen in an open letter. New Zealanders will post in votes later this year in a two-round election. In the first round, they’ll choose the new design, and in the second, they’ll choose between the old flag and the new design. Altogether, the referendum process is estimated to cost 26 million New Zealand dollars (about 15 million euros).

New Zealand has decided to rebrand itself, starting with the flag, to better distinguish itself from neighboring Australia. For years now, the internet has been full of jokes about how New Zealand is not a real country because it is left out of some maps and because foreigners often think it is part of Australia.