Salt Lake City continues to foster community identity through specialized symbols, including the Sego Belonging Flag, which honors the city's LGBTQIA residents and their diversity. This symbolic recognition follows a year of various Pride celebrations throughout Utah, beginning with Winter Pride on February 28, 2026.
Symbols of Belonging
The Sego Belonging Flag serves as a specific emblem for Salt Lake City's LGBTQIA population, representing the city's acceptance and love for the community. According to the City of Salt Lake City, the flag's design incorporates the beauty and resilience of the sego lily alongside a rainbow to represent community diversity. The flag also features an arrow of black, brown, light blue, pink, and white, which is intended to represent marginalized communities and forward progress.
A Diverse Flag Collection
The design of the Sego Belonging Flag was part of a broader effort by the city to adopt multiple flags that reflect its diverse population. In May 2025, the Salt Lake City Council officially adopted four distinct city flags by ordinance. These include the standard Sego Flag, the Sego Celebration Flag, the Sego Belonging Flag, and the Sego Visibility Flag, which is specifically dedicated to the city's transgender community.
Representing Transgender Residents
The Sego Visibility Flag was created to symbolize the city's commitment to seeing and celebrating the transgender community. The design utilizes pink and blue stripes to represent men and women, while a white stripe represents those who are nonbinary, intersex, transitioning, or otherwise gender nonconforming. Like the other Sego-themed flags, it incorporates the sego lily as an emblem of beauty and resilience.
The Foundation of City Symbols
The standard Sego Flag, which serves as the foundation for the other specialized versions, uses blue and white colors to represent the city's name. The blue represents the Great Salt Lake, while the white signifies the salt and the snow found in the surrounding mountains. The flag features a three-petaled white Sego Lily, a hardy plant native to the valley that has grown in the region for millennia. The golden stamen of the lily symbolizes future growth for succeeding generations.
Design and Selection History
The selection of these flags was a multi-year process that began in the spring of 2020. After receiving more than 600 entries, the Salt Lake City Flag Design Committee narrowed the field based on principles of simplicity, meaningful symbolism, and distinctive design. The final design was created by two local residents, Arianna Meinking and Elio Kennedy-Yoon, who were 18 and 17 years old at the time of adoption.
Voices of the Designers
The design process was driven by the goal of creating a symbol that residents could embrace. Local designer Arianna Meinking, a West High School graduate, noted that the experience highlighted the importance of making a difference in the community. Fellow designer Elio Kennedy-Yoon expressed that the opportunity to create a symbol for the city was an encouragement to contribute to the kindness and community embodied by Salt Lake City.
Pride Celebrations Across Utah
Beyond the city's official symbols, Utah hosts a wide array of Pride celebrations throughout the year. According to Utah Pride, these events include University of Utah's Pride Week from March 30 to April 3, 2026, and Davis County Pride on May 2, 2026. Other scheduled celebrations include Park City Pride on May 31, 2026, and North Salt Lake Pride on June 1, 2026.
