Accolades for Delray Beach: 'Blue Flag' award and 'Best Beach in Florida' nomination
DELRAY BEACH — For the second consecutive year, Delray Beach has earned the prestigious Blue Flag designation. It's a national award given to beaches that meet a set of criteria ranging from safety to environmental standards.
That's not all. Late last month, Delray Beach also was nominated as one of 20 Florida beaches in USA Today’s 2024 "10Best" Readers’ Choice Awards. Currently, it holds the No. 1 spot. The vote will close May 20.
It's not the first time the beach has been recognized for its accolades. Last year, the Delray Beach Municipal Beach between Casuarina Road and Laing Street also received the Blue Flag. It was one of the first two beaches in the continental United States to earn the award.
What is a 'Blue Flag' beach?
A "Blue Flag" beach has earned one of the most coveted voluntary awards for beaches, marinas and sustainable tourism boats in the world. To earn Blue Flag status, a beach must comply with a series of more than 30 stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria.
A full list of requirements can be found here.
The Blue Flag USA Program was launched by the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) in 2021 at the National Coastal Conference in New Orleans. The first two flags were awarded in 2023, with Delray Beach being one of them and Westward Beach in Malibu, California, being the other.
"Our awarded sites exceeded national standards with the first flags in the continental United States," said Annie Mercer, program coordinator for the ASBPA. "We look forward to seeing how they continue to grow in their second award season."
When will the Blue Flag be raised in Delray Beach?
The Blue Flag will go up in Delray Beach on Wednesday, May 8. A flag-raising ceremony will take place that day at 10 a.m. at the flagpole on Atlantic Avenue and State Road A1A. The event is free and open to the public.
"I am so grateful that our beach has been recognized again as a prominent Blue Flag designation," Delray Beach Public Works Director Missie Barletto said. "This world-class award will be enjoyed by our residents and visitors alike."
The flag will fly through April 30, 2025.
How to vote for Delray Beach in 2024 Readers' Choice Awards:
Readers can vote for Delray Beach as the "Best Beach in Florida" through the USA Today "10Best" site. No registration is required, and votes can be submitted once per day until noon on May 20.
Currently, Delray Beach is No. 1 on the list. Following it are Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Panama City Beach, Cape San Blas and Clearwater Beach.
The full leaderboard can be found here.
Nominees for the "10Best" Readers’ Choice Awards are submitted by a panel of experts. The "10Best" team's editors then narrow the field to select the Readers' Choice Awards' final nominees.
Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at jfernandez@pbpost.com and follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @jasminefernandz. Help support our work. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Delray gets 'Blue Flag' award, 'Best Beach in Florida' nomination
