Over 10,000 people are trying to design New Zealand's new flag — here are a few of the most gorgeous entries

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New Zealand Government

New Zealand is inching closer to a new flag.  

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Last year, Prime Minister John Key invited New Zealanders to design alternate flags that could replace the current design, which includes a Union Jack and the four stars of the Southern Cross constellation

More than 10,000 submissions were made, and on Monday a panel announced the 40 designs that made the cut.

If they win referendums this and next year, one of these flags could become the new national banner. 

Here are a few of the 40 designs that have made it so far.

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Designer Alan Tran says that this flag design replaces the Union Jack with the "koru," a New Zealand symbol that represents new life, strength, and peace.

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New Zealand Government

Prime Minister John Key previously said he would like the new flag to feature a silver fern on a black background, a symbol of the Pacific nation. This design by Clay Sinclair and Sandra Ellmers has some of those features.

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New Zealand Government
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Grant Alexander proposed a design with a red triangle representing Māori heritage, a blue triangle symbolizing British heritage, and a black triangle representing the country's mountainous landscape.

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New Zealand Government

The selectors want the new flag design to be timeless and "so simple it can be drawn by a child from memory," as stated in an open letter. This design from Travis Cunningham symbolizes green New Zealand.

39. Travis Cunningham NZ One
New Zealand Government
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Art historians, designers, and vexillologists — people who study flags – were roped in to go through the selection of 10,292 designs. John Kelleher submitted this flag, featuring a cluster of stars whose emergence signals the beginning of a month-long festival in New Zealand.

16. John Kelleher Matariki
New Zealand Government
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Wayne William Doyle designed this one, which uses only the iconic Southern Cross stars, already present in the 1902 New Zealand flag.

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New Zealand Government

The chosen designs will go through "robust intellectual property checks." Sven Baker's design represents the partnership between Māori and European settlers.

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Sven Baker: This design represents the partnership between Māori and European settlers settlers
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Next, the panel will choose four finalists and New Zealanders will rank them in a referendum later this year. In another public vote in March 2016, people will choose between their current flag and the best of the four finalists. In a radical redesign, Mike Davison incorporates the Koru symbol into the Union Jack.

BLACK JACK FLAG Mike Davison
Mike Davison: The design incorporates the Koru symbolinto the Union Jack
New Zealand
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