Nottingham Castle flew the county’s flag for the first time during its official launch ceremony.
The new Nottinghamshire flag shows a silhouette of Robin Hood, a green background and a red and white cross. It was voted for by thousands of members of the public following a campaign on BBC Radio Nottingham.
The idea for the flag was mentioned on air and listeners began responding by ringing in and sending in their design ideas.
Three flags were designed using ideas from many of the public’s designs and thousands of residents voted for their favourite through the BBC website. The design panel was made up of eight people, including Alex Farquharson, director of city art centre Nottingham Contemporary, card designer Rachel Church and local businessman Mich Stevenson.
BBC Radio Nottingham presenter Andy Whittaker said: “It’s a simple but striking design and I’m really pleased with it. There is no copyright, so it can be used by everyone.”
The Flag Institute, which is responsible for the registry of United Kingdom flags, has now registered the Nottinghamshire flag.
Flags and car stickers of the design can be bought in the county.
Other counties that have their own flag include Cornwall, Devon, Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.
The Nottinghamshire flag has already been flown above the offices of the Department for Communities and Local Government in London’s Victoria.
Cultural heritage Secretary of State Eric Pickles wants to fly county flags for one week at a time above the building alongside the Union Flag.
He said: “England’s counties continue to form an important part of our cultural and local identity in this country and many people remain deeply attached to their home county. This sense of pride and shared identity is one of the things that binds communities together and it’s right that the government department responsible for communities and local government should be actively recognising the important role they play.”