The largest flying flag in the world is in Azerbaijan. It hangs from the State Flag Square in Baku there on 6 November 2024. Its area is an impressive 2,564.02sq m, and its width and length are 36 metres and 72 metres respectively. The whole flag weighs over 500 kilograms and was sewn in a fortnight by six experienced tailors. Their efforts paid off as the flag was officially entered in the Guinness Book of Records.
The news of the new record was provided by Afsana Mehdiyeva, representing the Baku Seaside Boulevard Administration. The square was previously known for another entry in the Book of Records, which referred to the height of the flagpole. This one was dismantled in 2017 due to renovations. The current record refers to the size of the flag, placed on the new flagpole after the renovation of the square. The whole thing is truly impressive.
The world’s largest flag flying in Baku
Baku’s State Flag Square is located on Naftsevtsi Avenue in the Bayil district and covers 60 hectares. It features the national symbols of Azerbaijan, including the emblem, the text of the anthem, a bronze map of the country and a flagpole with a record-breaking flag. The initiative to create the square was initiated by a presidential decree on 17 November 2007, which simultaneously established 9 November as State Flag Day. Construction began at the end of the same year. The design was prepared by the US company Trident Support and the contractor was Azenko from Azerbaijan. Bronze elements, such as the emblem and the map, were plated in gold using the electroplating method. The complex also houses a museum dedicated to the flag.
World’s tallest flagpole
The record for the tallest flagpole is currently held by a 172-metre-high structure in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The structure stands at a central point in the city and is an important part of the Flag Day celebrations, which falls in Saudi Arabia on 11 March. The flagpole in Jeddah, including the additional elements, weighs as much as 500 tonnes and is a symbol of national and religious identity. The huge flag hanging from the mast depicts the Islamic creed and the sword and symbolises the principles on which the state is based.
Historic flag from the Battle of Trafalgar
One of the most unique artefacts in the world related to the symbolism of national flags is a ship’s flag from the Spanish ship ‘San Ildefonso’. The relic is 145 sq m in size and was used during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. After it was seized by the British, it was displayed during Admiral Nelson’s funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. The banner is distinguished by an arrangement of red and yellow stripes and the coat of arms of Castile and León. It was made of woollen canvas and measures 10 metres by 14.5 metres. It has been in the collection of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich since 1936 and is considered one of the most valuable testimonies of the period.
The largest flag in Poland
The largest flying flag in Poland can be seen in Warsaw. It hangs on the Freedom Mast there, which was unveiled in 2014 as a tribute to people of merit for Polish independence. The mast is 63 metres high, referring to the number of days of the Warsaw Uprising, and rises on the roundabout of the “Radosław” Home Army Grouping, at the junction of Śródmieście, Wola and Żoliborz. The entire structure weighs almost 40 tonnes. At the top of the mast flies the 100 square metre Polish flag. Every year from 1 August, a flag with the symbol of Fighting Poland is hung on it for 63 days to commemorate the uprising’s heroism. The mast’s foundation was designed in the shape of a ‘V’ and is a permanent feature of the capital’s landscape.
Source: aa.com.tr, rmg.co.uk, portalsamorzadowy.pl
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