At the Biljanini Izvori stadium in Ohrid, the music and stage spectacle „Silno svetnal den” was held, dedicated to 35 years of independence. Directed by Dejan Projkovski, with Igor Džambazov and over 30 Macedonian performers. The tour continues through 11 cities and ends in Skopje on 4 September.

On part of the stage design and the video screens, as well as in the audience, a symbol with sun rays appeared that resembles the flag - but with considerably more rays than the official one.

Eight rays, not as many as you like

The state flag of Macedonia is defined precisely: a red field, a yellow sun with eight rays extending to the edges. That is not an aesthetic recommendation, it is a legal provision. The symbol that appeared in Ohrid has more than eight rays, and that is where the problem worth naming begins - though not in the way the first impulse suggests.

There are fines for improper use of state symbols: from 4,000 to 5,000 euros for a legal entity, from 1,500 to 2,000 euros for a responsible individual, with mandatory confiscation of the materials. The rule exists. The question is whether it will be applied at all, and whether it should be.

Artistic stylisation or a violation

There is a real dilemma here, not just an occasion for outrage. If the symbol with extra rays is a visual interpretation within the stage design of a music show - that is one thing. If it is presented as the state flag at a state celebration - that is something else entirely.

The difference is not trivial, but it is not a scandal either. A state symbol in the context of an independence celebration reads as a state symbol, no matter how much the artist thought he was stylising. That is not a stage anyone watches with artistic eyes.

Who reviewed the stage design

The most practical question is not for the director. It is for the organiser and for the institution that funds and approves the programme of a state celebration. A show with over 30 performers, a tour of 11 cities and video screens is not made overnight - there is a production process, and there is someone who saw the stage design before it went on screen.

If nobody in that process noticed that the sun had the wrong number of rays at an independence celebration, this is not one designer's mistake. It is an answer to the question of how carefully what the state displays about itself is reviewed - and that is far more interesting than the symbol itself.