UAE Flag Day 2026: Date, Time, Holiday and Celebration

UAE Flag Day 2026

In this guide you will find the date, what UAE Flag Day is, the time the flag is raised, whether it is a holiday and how the day is celebrated. After that come how to hang the flag, where to buy one, what the colours mean and how the day differs from National Day.

When Is UAE Flag Day 2026?

UAE Flag Day 2026 is on Tuesday 3 November 2026. The date itself never changes: Flag Day is 3 November every year, and the National Media Authority lists it for 3 November 2026 on its official events page.

What has changed in some years is the day of the flag raising. When 3 November was not a working day, the flag was raised on a working day just before it:

• In 2024, 3 November was a Sunday, and the flag was raised on Friday 1 November.
• In 2018, 3 November was a Saturday, and the flag was raised on Thursday 1 November.
• In 2017, 3 November was a Friday, which was not a working day then, and the flag was raised on Thursday 2 November.

This year there is no such reason to move it. The UAE weekend is Saturday and Sunday, so a Tuesday is an ordinary working day. Still, the day and the time become final only when the call for 2026 is published, and we explain below where that will appear.

What Is UAE Flag Day?

UAE Flag Day is the day the whole country raises the UAE flag together, at one set time, to honour the flag and what it stands for. It is a national occasion for everyone who lives here, not only for citizens. The 2025 call was addressed to Emiratis, residents and institutions alike.

The day was started by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. It was first held in 2013, which makes 2026 the 14th Flag Day.

The date has a reason. The late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan became President of the UAE in 2004, and 3 November is the anniversary of that day. Sheikh Khalifa has since died, and Flag Day has stayed on his date.

Sheikh Mohammed described the purpose of the day in his 2025 message. He called it a yearly occasion to "renew our pledge, reaffirm our loyalty, and express our love for our nation's flag". In simple words, it is a day to stand together under one flag for a few minutes.

Those few minutes happen at a set time, and that time is the detail most people look for.

What Time Is the Flag Raised on UAE Flag Day?

The time for UAE Flag Day 2026 has not been announced yet. In most past years the flag went up at 11am, but you cannot count on it, because in 2023 the time was 10am.

The time is set fresh each year. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid makes the call in a post on his official X account, usually about a week before Flag Day. In 2025 the call came on 26 October, in 2024 on 30 October and in 2023 on 26 October.

Here are the times from past years:

So where do you look for this year's time, and when? Start checking from about 24 October. The call will appear first on Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's official X account. On the same day it is reported by WAM, the UAE's state news agency, at wam.ae, and by the UAE newspapers.

If you are planning a flag raising at your office or your building, plan for 11am for now, and confirm the time once the call is published. The time matters because the whole point is to raise the flag together. In 2025 it went up everywhere at exactly 11am.

One more thing follows from all this. The flag is raised in the middle of a working morning, and that already tells you whether Flag Day is a day off.

Is UAE Flag Day a Holiday?

No, UAE Flag Day is not a public holiday. Tuesday 3 November 2026 is a normal working day and a normal school day, and the flag is raised during it. Flag Day is not on the official list of UAE public holidays, which covers both the public and the private sector.

The next days off are for National Day, on 2 and 3 December by law, though the final days for 2026 have not been announced yet. Our guide on whether 3 November is a day off covers private companies, government offices and schools.

So on Flag Day you will be at work or at school as usual. Here is what happens there.

How UAE Flag Day Is Celebrated

UAE Flag Day is celebrated by raising the UAE flag at the announced time, usually with the national anthem, wherever people are at that moment. There is no single main event to travel to. The day happens in thousands of small gatherings at once, in three kinds of places.

At offices and ministries

Ministries and government bodies are asked to raise the flag at the same time, and staff come out to do it together. In 2025, government employees stepped outside their offices and raised the flag side by side at 11am.

The leaders take part as well. In 2025 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid attended the celebration at The Gate Building in DIFC, where he raised the flag with 150 students from schools across Dubai. Many private companies and other workplaces also hang the flag for the day.

At schools

Schools stay open and hold their own flag raising. In 2025, children sang the national anthem and waved small flags. One Dubai school asked its pupils to come in the colours of the flag and to carry a small flag.

Some schools go further. In 2021, about 800 pupils at one Dubai school stood on the field to form the words "We love the UAE".

If your child has to make a drawing or a poster for the day, start with our list of UAE Flag Day drawing and poster ideas.

At home and around the city

Families take part at home too. In 2025 they gathered in front yards and on balconies, and flags were raised at public beaches. Some places are worth a visit in early November, going by 2025:

• the Dubai Flag Garden near Burj Al Arab, where thousands of flags formed portraits of two rulers
• Flag Island in Sharjah, with its 123-metre flagpole
• the Corniche, lit in the national colours

In Dubai, 2025 also had a National Month, which ran from Flag Day to National Day on 2 December, with flags on shops, homes and streets. It has not been announced for 2026 yet.

How you can take part

You do not need an invitation, and you do not need to be a citizen. Here is what you can do:

• Ask your office or your building management whether a flag raising is planned, and at what time.
• If your child's school sends a letter about the day, follow it. It may ask for clothes in the flag's colours and a small hand flag.
• Hang a flag at home, from a balcony or on a wall.
• At the announced time, stop what you are doing and join the flag raising nearest to you.

If you hang a flag yourself, hang it the correct way. It takes one minute to check.

How to Hang the UAE Flag

Hang the UAE flag with the red band at the top when it hangs vertically, and with the red band on the left of the person looking at it when it hangs horizontally. In the horizontal position green is at the top, white in the middle and black at the bottom.

Check the cloth before you raise it. The official guidance says a flag that is faded, torn or worn must be replaced, not raised. Our guide on how to hang the UAE flag shows both positions step by step.

And if your flag needs replacing, a new one costs very little.

Where to Buy a UAE Flag

You can buy a UAE flag online, at party shops and at specialist flag shops. Hand flags on a stick start from about AED 1.50 each.

For a balcony or a wall, the usual choice is a 90 x 150 cm flag. It costs from about AED 20 online to AED 60 at a specialist flag shop, at prices read on 13 October 2026. In Dubai some sellers deliver on the same day, which helps if you have left it late. See where to buy a UAE flag in Dubai for the places, with prices by size.

Once the flag is up, children often ask the next question.

What Do the UAE Flag Colours Mean?

The four colours of the UAE flag stand for good deeds, sacrifice, prosperity and strength. This is how the official flag guidelines put it, colour by colour:

There is a story behind the colours as well. They are linked to a poem, and the flag was designed by a 19-year-old. We tell it in what the UAE flag colours mean.

That flag was first raised on 2 December 1971, which brings us to the day people most often mix up with Flag Day.

Is UAE Flag Day the Same as National Day?

No, UAE Flag Day and National Day are two different days, about a month apart. Flag Day is on 3 November and National Day is on 2 December. They differ in three ways:

1. What they mark
2. Whether you get a day off
3. What people do

Flag Day honours the flag, on the anniversary of Sheikh Khalifa becoming President in 2004, and it has been held since 2013. National Day, now also called Eid Al Etihad, marks 2 December 1971, when the emirates united to form the UAE.

Only National Day is a public holiday. The law gives two paid days, 2 and 3 December, to the public and private sectors. Flag Day gives none.

The days look different too. On Flag Day everyone raises the flag at one set time, and then the working day goes on. National Day brings an official ceremony, fireworks, parades and events across the emirates.

The two days are connected, all the same. The flag was first raised by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan on 2 December 1971, the very day that National Day marks. So Flag Day opens the season, and the flags you see going up in early November stay up until December. Between the two comes Commemoration Day on 30 November, which is a day of remembrance and not a celebration.

One last point, so that nothing confuses you. On 9 April 2026 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid also asked citizens and residents to raise the flag over homes and buildings. That was a separate call, not Flag Day.