UAE Flag Day: What this day means for Abu Dhabi's people

Abu Dhabi: At 11am on 3 November, flags were raised across the UAE in a shared moment of pride.

First celebrated in 2013, UAE Flag Day commemorates the anniversary of the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s accession as President in 2004.

The annual occasion follows a call by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, urging citizens, residents, ministries, institutions, schools and universities to raise the national flag across the seven emirates.

To understand what the day and the flag means for Abu Dhabi’s residents and locals, Gulf News talked with them.

“A symbol of Arab identity”

For 21-year-old Emirati Mohammad Abdullah Ali Saleh Alyassi, who was born in Abu Dhabi, the flag is tied to the nation’s founding.

"The UAE flag is the flag of our country, and it is a role model for us. It was raised by our father, Sheikh Zayed, may God have mercy on him.”

He sees the day as a celebration of unity.

“Today is Flag Day, when we raise the banner of the union of the seven emirates. It is a symbol of Arab identity and of the UAE, from 1971 until today.”

The flag also speaks for the country abroad. “When people anywhere see the UAE flag, they know which country it belongs to. It is a source of pride for every citizen who belongs to this nation.”

Saeed Mohammed Al Ameri, 19, is from Al Ain and studies in Abu Dhabi. Asked what the flag’s colours stand for, he answers without hesitation.

"Each colour symbolises something,” he said. “Red is strength, white is peace.”

For him, Flag Day belongs to everyone in the region. “It is a source of pride for every citizen and every Gulf national.”

Teaching the next generation

Engineer Mona Abdullah Al Ali describes the flag as a link between past and future.

“For me, the flag means pride, honour and belonging to my dear homeland. It is a symbol of union, unity and security, of the history of our ancestors, our achievements and our ambitions for the future," she said.

For her, Flag Day starts at home. “As a mother, today I am getting my children ready in UAE dress and teaching them to love the homeland.”

She is not the only parent doing so.

Elena Obukhova, 37, has lived in the UAE for a year, and this is her first Flag Day.

She spent the morning dressing her daughter in the national colours for school. “For me, it’s about peace, about being brave, and about respect for the country and the government, and for caring for people,” she said.

Katrin Herz, General Manager of the Abu Dhabi EDITION, has children at school here too. “They painted in art class, and they dressed up for Flag Day and the colours, it’s nice how everybody embraces it.”

Asked how she would describe the UAE to someone who has never been, she does not hesitate. “It’s a melting pot,” she said. “Having different nationalities living peacefully together, and an opportunity for everybody to enjoy their professional lives and their personal lives, is an incredible achievement. What they have done in 50 years is remarkable.”

For Bharati Kejriwal, a HR director for Abu Dhabi EDITION, the flag is above all a reminder of gratitude. Originally from India, she has lived in the UAE since 2014. “This country has kept us safe. This country has included us,” she said. “I never once felt like an outsider, and that is rare.”

Her clearest memory is not of the flag itself but of the country. One night, while she was working in Ras Al Khaimah, a tire burst on a dark road in the middle of nowhere. A car with four young Emirati men pulled up. One of them changed the wheel and drove off before she could thank him. The next day she told the story to an Emirati man at a garage. “He said, ‘Of course, you’re in the Emirates, and you are a lady. Of course we’ll take care of you."

A feeling of belonging

Erika Fay Nicole, from Italy, first came to Abu Dhabi in December 2023. “Something about the city immediately stayed with me,” she said.

After months of travelling back and forth, she made it her home.

For her, the flag stands for “belonging, freedom and a sense of protection”. “I feel I can truly be myself here, in a country where ambition is encouraged and achievements are celebrated,” she said. “Every time I see the flag, I feel proud to be part of something bigger than myself.”

The sight of it over the Corniche still moves her. “It reminds me of the first time I arrived here and how emotional I felt. Even today, it gives me the same feeling: I am exactly where I am meant to be.”

The four colours carry their own meaning for her. “As an Italian, I immediately feel a connection with the green, white and red of my own flag,” she said. “But the black has a special meaning to me. It represents strength and resilience, qualities I value deeply and recognise in myself.”

Bharati reads the colours differently. “The red is energising. The green and white are peaceful. Green is one of my favourite colours in nature, and white is just peaceful,” she said.

Erika’s clearest memory of the flag is from National Day in December 2024 at the Sheikh Zayed Festival. “There were flags everywhere, horses, camels and so many people celebrating together,” she recalls. “It was one of those moments when I truly felt connected to this country.”

One flag many stories

If she had to explain the flag to a newcomer, Erika said she would tell them it represents “seven emirates coming together to build one nation”. She would add that it is also “a place where people from different parts of the world can find their own sense of belonging.”

On Flag Day, Abu Dhabi’s residents say the same thing in different words: the flag belongs to everyone who calls the country home.