City to redesign controversial ‘O’ in Nanaimo Sign

Manly said the original design of the ‘O’ came from a submission from the community when the City did a call out for a new art design for Maffeo Sutton Park. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm

What says ‘Nanaimo’ more than just a giant sign spelling out the name in the middle of Maffeo Sutton Park?

The Nanaimo sign was first installed in 2021 for community members and tourists to get photos with the sign and Sway-a-Lana lagoon as their backdrop.

Each of the letters stands five feet tall and are painted white, except for the ‘O,’ which features a rainbow design made up of 15 coloured segments.

While the ‘O’ was originally painted to represent diversity and inclusion in the city, the ‘O’ has been vandalized several times, most recently painted entirely white. 

Last year, the ‘O’ was spray-painted with black paint reading ‘No WEF’, referring to a conspiracy theory that the colours of the ‘O’ are connected to the World Economic Forum, or WEF. The City of Nanaimo has discredited any claims associated with the design of the ‘O.’

City Councillor, Paul Manly, came by CHLY to talk about the city now looking at redesigning the ‘O’ and clear up any misinformation around what the ‘O’ currently represents.

“The current design of the ‘O’ is, it's about inclusivity, and diversity–different colours, different spectrums, different people in our community,” he said. “We have a very diverse community, we have people from all over the world who live in Nanaimo. We're a multicultural society, and we've seen Nanaimo change in a lot of ways that I think are very positive, and so that's what the ‘O’ represents.”

While the ‘O’ wasn’t originally designed to represent it, the 15 colours on the ‘O’ resemble the circle rainbow logo of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which has 17 different colours in it. The sustainable development goals, which were first established in 2015 are supported by all UN member states, a variety of civil society organizations, and NGOs like the WEF.

“But if it did match the Sustainable Development Goals, I don't understand what the problem would be. Because when you look at what the Sustainable Development Goals represent; access to nutritious food, access to education, access to health care, ensuring that we have access to clean water, that we protect the biodiversity around us, that we protect the ocean, the biosphere that we rely on for life,” Manly said. “All of the things that are represented in the Sustainable Development Goals are things that we should be striving towards.”

Manly said the original design of the ‘O’ came from a submission from the community when the City did a call out for a new art design for Maffeo Sutton Park.

“So it was the artist who chose those colour swatches to represent diversity and inclusivity, and that was the design that was picked,” he said.

At the council meeting on May 26, Nanaimo city council voted 6-3 in support of directing staff to commission a new design for the “O” through the City’s Urban Design Roster.

Currently, the sign is hand-painted with a clear top coat. City staff said they are still evaluating more cost-effective methods for placing the new design, such as using adhesive decals. The last full repainting of the sign was undertaken by hand in 2023 at a cost of $4,097, which was covered by the city’s operating budget. 

Manley said he voted in favour of redesigning the ‘O’ as he thinks refreshing public art is always a good idea.

“I think that a lot of those ideas are going to reflect the diversity of our community as well. I like the idea of actually filling in all the different letters,” he said. “Maybe we'll get some interesting designs from Snuneymuxw or Snaw-naw-as, other members of the community that want to reflect how they see the community.”

The city will now look at switching up the design of the ‘O’ annually or biannually to highlight different artists and art styles.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.