The flag consists of a horizontal bicolour of blue and white, with the coat of arms of Riga in the middle.

The upper end of the chest may also be a decorative tapered, spherical, elliptical tip or cap, in which two crossed keys are represented.

[2] The flag should be used free of charge by the person on the buildings in the administrative territory of Riga without the permission of the Symbolic Commission.

[8] The obverse side of the flag consisted of Lenin's portrait with a laurel branch and the inscription "Workers of the world, unite!"

[4] In 1988, during the Singing Revolution, academician Jānis Stradiņš [lv] led a campaign to return to the blue and white design.

While the change was accepted on 5 August 1988, the then-communist-dominated city council with its chairman Alfrēds Rubiks in charge amended the coat of arms of the original flag, replacing the crown and cross in the shield with a five-pointed red star and the color of the crossed keys from black to gold.