The beaches of Balsi (Green Lakes) and Žirmūnai have been awarded the prestigious Blue Flag for the second year in a row. These companies "Beam" supervised beaches are the only freshwater beaches in Lithuania marked with the Blue Flag.
The Blue Flag is a worldwide known and recognized eco-label. in 2022 The Blue Flag will fly on 5042 beaches in 48 countries around the world.
International Blue Flag certificates and the right to raise blue flags on the beaches of Balsios (Green Lakes) and Žirmūnai were granted to two Vilnius public beaches after the implementation of 33 strict requirements in the categories of education and information, water quality, environmental management, security and service quality.
The Blue Flag certificate is granted for one season only. If, after the inspection, the condition of the beaches no longer meets the mandatory criteria, the Blue Flag must be lowered.
The Blue Flag program has been running since 1985. It is administered by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), which is headquartered in Denmark.
In Lithuania, the Blue Flag program has been implemented since 2000. 8 beaches of the country have been awarded blue flags: the central beaches of Nida and Juodkrantė, Preila, Palanga Birutė Park, Klaipėda City Municipality I Smiltynė and II Melnragė, Vilnius city municipalities Žirmūnai and Balsi (Green Lakes) beaches.
The official swimming season on Vilnius public beaches begins on June 1 and lasts until September 15.
