True South Flies on All 7 Continents in Celebration of Antarctica Day

True South was designed to create a global community united for the good of Antarctica. Never has the strength of that global community been more evident than Antarctica Day, Dec. 1. Thanks to participation from National Antarctic Programs, Antarctic station personnel, polar enthusiasts, vexillologists, and schoolchildren from around the world, True South flew on all seven continents Tuesday. The feat comes less than four months after the first True South flags were manufactured.

True South flying at McMurdo Station, Antarctica on Antarctica Day 2020.

Antarctica Day is recognized on the anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty, a unprecedented agreement that set the continent aside as a place of peace and discovery. 61 years later, the Antarctic community is still demonstrating the spirit of international cooperation that made the Treaty possible. Regardless of their citizenship or location, people flew True South to affirm their commitment to Antarctica.

South Georgia Island; Gebze, Turkey; The Hague, Netherlands; Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti

The flag appeared in various forms in more than a dozen countries, from a video published by the Netherlands' National Antarctic Program to a coloring page for students in Australia. In addition to the physical flags that flew across the world, digital flags were also an important part of Antarctica Day celebrations. Posts with images, gifs, and digital stickers of True South helped bring awareness of the holiday— and the continent— to tens of thousands of people across social media platforms.

Guayaquil, Ecuador

Trondheim, Norway; Melbourne, Australia; Virginia, USA

Antarctica Day is not only a time to celebrate the work that preserved Antarctica decades ago, but also a time to reflect on the work that is necessary to preserve it for decades to comes. True South is one small piece of a much larger effort to protect the valuable and vulnerable continent, but by building visibility and a sense of community the flag has already begun shaping people's relationship with Antarctica and with one another. Click here to subscribe to future True South updates.