Blue Flag beach

The Blue Flag is a certification given to beaches by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). A beach that has been awarded the blue flag means that it meets the organisation's standards of environmental management. These standards are for water quality, safety, and public environmental education. Local governments try to get the Blue Flag for their beaches and marinas, to show people that they have high environmental and quality standards.
The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE which is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation. It is made up of 65 organisations in 60 member countries in Europe, Africa, Oceania, Asia and the Americas.
FEE refers to the Blue Flag certificates as awards. They are issued for one year to beaches and marinas of FEE member countries. The awards are announced every year on 5 June for Europe, Canada, Morocco, Tunisia and other countries in a similar geographic location, and on 1 November for the Caribbean, New Zealand, South Africa and other countries in the Southern Hemisphere.
41 countries are currently part of the Blue Flag Programme: Aruba, Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates