England's biggest St George’s cross unveiled as council vows to 'continue to fly it with pride'

Ed Griffiths
Thu, 23 Apr 2026 05:00:01 +0000

A huge St George’s Cross, believed to be the largest display of the flag in the UK, has been unveiled with the local council vowing to "continue to fly it with pride" for England's national day.

The 60-foot-long flag, displayed on Nottingham's Council House in Old Market Square, was unveiled to mark the East Midlands city's annual St George's Day celebrations.

It is believed to be the biggest St George’s Cross on display in the country and likely the world.

Measuring an enormous 60ft by 26ft, the English flag covers most of the historic building.

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The massive flag is displayed every year in the East Midlands city for St George’s Day, celebrated on April 23, and is also sometimes raised during sporting events such as the football World Cup.

Nottingham City Council leader Councillor Neghat Khan told GB News: "Nottingham’s 60-foot flag has once again been unfurled on the Council House in preparation for St George’s Day.

"It has become a regular fixture in the city, appearing every year to celebrate St George’s Day.

“Nottingham holds the largest St George's flag in the country, and we will continue to fly it with pride on days of national celebration."

The occasion celebrates English culture, heritage, and national identity, often marked by flying the St George’s Cross flag, wearing red roses, and holding events such as Morris dancing.

Calls to celebrate Englishness in a positive light have come from all corners of the country.

Calvin Bailey MBE MP, Member of Parliament for Leyton and Wanstead, told GB News: "St George’s Day is a time for all of us to celebrate England, the nation we love, and our shared history and culture.

"People from all of our communities in England, from every race and religion, come together and celebrate our shared identity.

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He added: "Sadly, there are those who seek to impose their twisted, racist views onto our flag and our national day. In doing so, they generate hatred that, at its worst, can cause murders like that of Stephen Lawrence which affected me and my local community so deeply growing up.

"The majority of us love our country, rather than a far-right fantasy version of it - and I believe it is for all of us to stand up and make our patriotism and our unity clear."

It comes after, during this week's Prime Minister's Question Time, the Labour MP asked Sir Keir Starmer: "Tomorrow is Saint George's Day. Does my right honourable friend agree with me that now more than ever, we need to tell the story, the positive story of Englishness, founded in who we are?"

In response, Sir Keir replied: "We do celebrate Saint George's Day. We fly our flag. We celebrate this country's values of service, generosity and respect. They, Mr Speaker, are English values, which is why I love this country so much."

However, the Government has dismissed calls to make St George's Day a new bank holiday.

Latest estimates reveal that the cost would be around £2billion for the UK, mirroring the costs for the 2023 bank holiday to mark the King’s Coronation.

"While we are proud to celebrate all of our patron saints, the current pattern of bank and public holidays is well established, and we have no plans to change it," a Government spokesman said.

Nearly 60 per cent of Britons believe that St George's Day should be a bank holiday in England, a YouGov poll found, mirroring similar practices for St Andrew's Day in Scotland and St Patrick's Day in Ireland.

Scots receive a Bank Holiday around November 30 for St Andrew’s Day celebrations.

Festivities can last over a week, with hundreds of thousands of Scots embracing traditional music, dancing, food and drink.

The Irish diaspora also sent St Patrick’s Day celebrations far from the Emerald Isle, with parades stretching across the Atlantic, where the Chicago River is infamously dyed bright green for the occasion.

Britain also holds major celebrations for the Welsh-born patron saint, leaving many English people bamboozled as to why the same affection is not shown towards St George.