Page 29 - Student Exchange Program 2024

The Flag of Singapore consists of two horizontal halves—red above white. Red symbolises
universal brotherhood and equality of man; white stands for pervading and everlasting purity
and virtue. In the upper left corner, a white crescent moon and five white stars form a circle.
The five stars stand for the ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice, and equality.

The Merlion is the official mascot of Singapore. It is depicted as a mythical creature with the
head of a lion and the body of a fish. Being of prominent symbolic nature to Singapore and
Singaporeans in general, it is widely used to represent both the city state and its people in
sports teams, advertising, branding, tourism and as a national personification.

The Merlion was first used in Singapore as the logo for the tourism board. Its name combines
"mer", meaning the sea, and "lion". The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing
village when it was called Temasek, which means "sea town" in Javanese. The lion head
represents Singapore's original name—Singapura—meaning "lion city" or "kota singa".