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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Megan Doherty

European Union shows its colours on banks of Lake Burley Griffin

The European Union community of Canberra came together for a satellite selfie this week. Picture: Photox - Canberra Photography Services

After a couple of false starts due to weather, persistence paid off and the European Union community in Canberra showed off its colours on Tuesday at Rond Terrace as part of the Satellite Selfie event.

During National Science Week last week, a satellite flew over the ACT and the surrounding area to capture an image of Canberra and the people if possible. It flew over again on Tuesday to make up for last week's rainy weather.

The EU community, including ambassadors, was front and centre on Tuesday, taking its own stunning pictures with a drone.

European Union ambassadors and other representatives took their satellite selfie on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin. Picture: supplied

The satellite images are due to be released early next month. The National Science Week committee and the Australian National University organised the satellite flyover.

Deputy head of the European Union delegation to Australia, Fabio Spadi, said it was great for the EU to be involved.

"When we were informed about the initiative we thought, 'This is great' and we were kind of thinking, 'OK we can do something, what can we do'? And then, we were looking at our flag and we thought, 'OK, there's a circle in the middle, there's a lot of us in Canberra'. Simple things seem to work best, right'?"

The stunning display by the European Union community in Canberra for the satellite selfie. Picture: Photox - Canberra Photography Services

The European Flag has 12 gold stars that "stand for the ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony among the citizens of Europe" rather than the number of EU countries.

Together, the European diplomatic community decided to present the flag of the European Union surrounded by the flags of the 27 EU Member States.

They hope the 15-metre display by the shores of Lake Burley Griffin was indeed big enough to be seen from space and will make the satellite selfie cut.

"We are 27 countries but there are 24 embassies or high commissions here in Australia, so it's quite a lot," Mr Spadi said.

"The fact there are so many in Canberra, we thought it was quite significant."

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