Lala Rascic

Even though I have been informed that Google research is no research at all, I stand behind my opinion that it is. A solid base for furthering the field of knowledge – at the least. I know that many publications haven’t gone digital and that much of the information is kept for members and subscribers only – I feel that if a sensationalist information from the late 90’s is not to be found on the net, then it didn’t happen or that the information has been removed from public access (as sabotage). That is the case of a giant flag of Tibet presented in Calais, France. I call it my “ghost flag”.

God knows I am not the scholarly type and all I ever have researched is how to get high by domestic cleaning products – still my (by some) half -ass Google reseach has yielded fantastic results. In the two weeks in which I had with total dedication been surfing the net trying to find leads on my subject: GIANT FLAGS.

On Saturday, 12.12.09 I have presented the results of my research in the form of a lecture/performance in The Good Childeren Gallery.

The results are compiled in a document that served as a script for my artistic performance. I am posting it below. If anyone has searched the Internet for flag superlative information, they will agree that what follows is the most informed document on the subject available.

Based on this information I have produced a graph as well. A detail of the graph is posted above.

An american football field measures
300 x 120 ft = 100 x 40 yd =  91.44 x 36.5 m = 35,999 ft² = 3,344 m²  = 0.82 ac = 0.34 ha

1899 – LARGEST AMERICAN FLAG, was made by MISS JOSEPHINE MULFORD of Madison New Jersey during the American Spanish War of 1898. Flag was 100 x 65 ft, the blue field was 40 x 35 ft = 21.1 x 10.6 m, the stripes were 5 ft =1.5 m wide and the stars 2 ft 8 in = 80 cm across. Some of the 45 stars were sewn in historic places such as the very room in which Betsy Ross made the first american flag in 1776. This report was made by the New York Times in 1899 and in 1900.
100×65ft = 33×21yd = 30×19m = 6,500ft² = 603m² = 0.14ac = 0.06ha

1912 – The same paper writes in 1912 of a flag ceremony that will be held in Washington where gov.Hichcock will preside over the unfurling of what is believed to be the largest flag measuring 62 ft 6 in x 32 ft. The flag then had 48 stars.
62ft 6in x 32 ft = 21 x 11 yd = 19 x 10 m = 1,973 ft² = 183 m² = 0.04 ac = 0.018 ha

1914 – On July 30 a NEW YORK TIMES READER writes to the paper that their report from July 5 same year that a flag measuring 95 x 50 ft is the biggest american flag is a mistake and reminds them of Miss Mulfords’ flag of 1899.
95 x 50ft = 32 x 16yd = 27 x 15m = 5,700ft² = 529m² = 0.13ac = 0.05ha
Miss. Mulfords’ flag was 800 ft² = 74.3 m² larger

1915 – LARGEST AMERICAN FLAG ever made at the time 165 x 52 ft, weighing 1,560 lbs is flown between TIMES AND HEIDELBERG buildings at 42nd st. and Broadway. The flag was made by a New England cotton mill for the METRO PICTURES corporation.
165×52ft = 55×17yd = 50×16m = 8,580ft² = 797m² = 0.19ac = 0.079ha

1918 – BROOKLYN AUTO SHOW opens at the armory on Bedford avenue. From the ceiling of the armory was hung what was believed to be the largest american flag. The flag was  240 x 156 ft, stripes were 12 ft = 3.6 m wide and the stars were 6 ft = 1.8 from point to point.
240 x 156 ft = 80 x 52 yd = 73 x 47.5 m = 37,440 ft² = 3,478 m² = 0.85 ac = 0.34 ha

1976 – THE LARGEST UNION JACK flag was one 240 x 108 ft  displayed at the Royal Tournament, Earl’s Court, London in July 1976. It weighed more than a ton and was made in Exter, Devon.
240 x 108 ft = 80 x 36 yd = 73 x 33 m = 25,920 ft² = 2,408 m² = 0.5ac = 0.24 ha
1 UK long T = 1.12  US short T = 1.06  metric T

1982 – Guinness Book of World Records says: The largest flag in the world, the ‘Stars and Stripes’, was displayed at EVANSVILLE, INDIANA on 22 Mar 1980 measuring 411 ft (125 m) by 210 ft (64 m) with a weight of 7 T in readiness for its hoisting on VERRAZANO NARROWS BRIDGE, NEW YORK, USA on 4 July 1981. It is the brainchild of advertising man Len Silverfine.
411 x 210 ft = 137 x 70 yd = 125 x 64 m = 86,310 m² = 8,081 m² = 1.9ac = 0.8 ha

1993 – Guinness book notes that the largest flag in the world is a flag of the REPUBLIC OF CHINA presented to the city KAOSHIUNG, Taiwan by the Unichamps corporation in April 1989.
The flag is 413 x 275.5 ft and weighs 1,807 lb
413 x 275.5 ft = 138 x 92 yd = 126 x 84 m = 113,781 ft² = 10,570 m² = 2.61 ac = 1.05 ha
1,807 lb = 819.6 T = 0.87 T

1996 – SUPERFLAG, made by Ski Demski, measuring 505 x 255 ft, weighing 3000 lbs, each star is 17 ft across. It took 6 months to make it. It was displayed on the Hoover dam and it took the efforts of 200 men to maneuver it over the dam and mount it.
505 x 255 ft = 168 x 85 yd = 154 x 78 m = 113,625 ft² = 10,556 m² = 2.6 ac = 1.05 ha
3000 lbs = 1,360 kg = 1.36 MT
Has the area of 3 football fileds!

1998 – TURKEY, largest Turkish flag 52 x 78 meters, 4,056 m², unveiled in front of 30,000 people at the ALI SAMI YEN STADIUM was later hung from the KARAKAYA HYDROELECTRIC power plant.
255 x 170 ft = 85 x 56 yd = 52 x 78 m = 43,658 ft² = 4,056 m² = 1 ac = 0.4 ha

A large TURKISH flag on a side of a hill in Cyprus, NICOSIA facing the Greek side is 165 x 100 m and can be seen on GOOGLE EARTH.
541 x 328 ft x 180 x 109 yd = 165 x 100 m = 117,604 ft² = 16,500 m² = 4 ac = 1.65 ha

1998 – It is said that a large TIBETAN flag was was displayed in Calais, France on June 6, 1998. The flag measured 340 x 295 ft, that is 125 x 90 m, with an area  of 11, 250 m². I couldn’t find any leads  in the english language.

2001- GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE, NY – if weather allows, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day, as well as on dates honoring those lost in the September 11, 2001 attacks, the bridge sports the largest free-flying American flag in the world; 90 ft long and 60 ft wide, the flag weighs 450 pounds.
90 x 60 ft = 30 x 20 yd = 27 x 18 m = 5,400 ft² = 502 m² = 0.12 ac = 0.05 ha
400 lbs = 181 kg
1/6 the area of the area football filed, the same size as the flag reported in 1914

2003 – KEY WEST, THE LONGEST FLAG, Florida The artist who created the gay pride RAINBOW flag had sewn a 2 km = 1.25 mi long, 4.8 m = 16 ft wide version of the internationally recognized symbol was displayed along the entire length the island’ s main thoroughfare that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. Gilbert Baker had help of some 3,000 people to help fly his mammoth creation.
1.25 mi = 2 km = 2,000 m = 2,187 yd = 6,561 ft
6,561 x 16ft = 2,187 x 5yd = 2,000 x 4.8m =103, 333ft² = 9,600m² = 2.37ac = 0.96
The rainbow flag was 12.9 times longer than the SUPERFLAG that at the time held the record for the worlds largest flag. However the rainbow flag had an area of 10, 292 ft²  lesser than the Superflag.

2004 – PAKISTAN broke the world record with a flag  510 x 340 ft, 173,400 ft². The flag was displayed in August 2004 on the occasion of th 57 th Independence day on a Karachi cricket field.
The Flag is made of 110 vertical stripes, while the crescent and star were hand painted. It was completed in just 13 days.
A cricket field is normally a circular or oval shaped, having a diameter that varies between 450 and 500 feet: 500 ft = 152.4 m = 166.6 yd
510 x 340 ft = 170 x 113.3 yd = 155.4 x 103.6 m = 173,400 ft² = 16,109 m² = 1.63 ac = 0.66 ha

2004 –  BAHRAIN – the smallest Gulf state – beat Pakistan’s short lived record and has unfurled the world’s largest national flag in December 2004 at a sports stadium car park. The flag measures 169 x 97 m. 70 people worked for 400 hours to make the 16,393 m² flag and the finished product weighs 3,200 kg.
555 x 318 ft = 185 x 106 yd = 169 x 97 m = 176,452 ft² = 16,393 m² = 4.05 ac = 1.63 ha

2007 – World record for the largest flag set by a flag of ISRAEL in November 2007. The flag is  615 x 330 ft, 202,870 sq ft , it weighs 5.2 tons. The flag is made by Philippine Grace Galindez-Gupana and unfurled at Masada Airfield. The flag was sewn in 3 weeks by 6 professional seamstresses under the direction of 2 designers and with the help of 40 volunteers. It is twice the size of the SUPERFLAG, the size of two football stadiums.
615 x 330 ft = 205 x 110 yd = 187.5 x100.5 m  = 202,870 ft² = 18,843 m² = 4.6 ac =1.88 ha

2007 – December 2007, ABU DHABI, the worlds largest aerial flag was flown. The flag of United Arab Emirates was towed by a Bell 412 Aircraft, it was 50,000 ft² = 4,645 m²
Similar area to Turkey flag of 1998.

2008 – PALESTINE, an initiative started over the internet by young Palestinians that live on the West Bank and abroad is hoping to break the world record of the biggest Palestinian flag in the world and are hoping to compete with the Israeli flag. The flag is 232 x 110 m. The area of 27,000 m², corresponds to the full area of historic palestine. The project cost $20,000. The flag was presented in May 2008 in Damascus. It is not mentioned in the Guinness Records.
761 x 360 ft = 253 x 120 yd = 232 x 110 m = 271,465 ft² = 25,520 m² = 6.23 ac = 2.5 ha

2009 – The impoverished former Soviet republic of TAJIKISTAN is made to enter the Guinness Books of World Records with what it said was the world’s longest flag. Tajikistan has submitted its application to the Guinness committee in the hope of knocking Russia off the top spot. A Russian flag about 1,260 m = 4,158-ft long was presented in St. Petersburg in August 2009 to mark the country’s own national flag day. Both flags are shorter than the 2003 RAINBOW FLAG:
Tajikistan 500 m = 1,640 ft , Russia 740 m = 2,427 ft

2009 – SWITZERLAND, it is believed to be the second largest flag in the world. The flag is 120 x 120 m and was fixed to the rock face of Saentis mountain on the occasion of the National day, July 2009
393 x393 ft = 131 x 131 yd = 120 x 120 m = 155,000 ft² = 14,400 m² = 3.55 ac = 1.44 ha
2009 – SHARJAH — A UNITED ARAB EMIRATES flag of the size of four football grounds that has gained entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest will be unfurled December 3 and 4 2009 as part of the National Day celebrations. The UAE flag  covers an area of 22,813 m² it is 208 m-long and 109.7 m wide and weighs 4,254 kg. Manufacturing and moving of the flag required 145 tailors and assistant workers. It will be unfurled in five minutes and 20 seconds by 448 men who have undergone training for the special drill for the purpose for several months.
682 x 359 ft = 227 x 119 yd = 208 x 110 m = 245,606 ft² = 22,813 m² = 5.63 ac = 2.28 ha
At the time the flag was produced (May  2008) it was the largest, yet the record was beat by Ms. Grace Gupanana’s Jerusalem flag that was almost double the size!

2009 – JERUSALEM Sept 18.2009 The world’s largest flag was unfurled over Teddy Football Stadium, Jerusalem, The creation of the flag was initiated by Grace Galindez Gupana, Filipino business woman who also made the record breaking flag of Israel. The flag  features the largest emblem of lion, measures 43,412 m² (that’s over 4.3 ha)  and weighs 9.5 T. A team of six people produced the world’s largest flag over a period of 120 days. It cost $120,000 to make.
Measuring 287.5 m long and 151 m wide, the area of the flag was an enormous 43,412 m².
943 x 495 ft = 314 x 165 yd = 287 x 151 m =  467,282 ft² = 43,412m² = 10.72 ac = 4.34 ha
This flag is the size of 12.6 football fields

FLYING FLAGS & FLAGPOLES

1999 – MEXICO, Banderas Monumentales are a huge flag/monuments  part of a government program started in 1999. The biggest monumental flag in Mexico is the one located in Monterrey (northeast) with a pole height of 100.6 meters and a flag measuring 50 by 29 meters, built to double the size of the other monumental flags. It is located at the top of the CERRO DEL OBISPADO (Bishopric Hill) at an altitude of 775 meters above sea level and it weighs 230 kilograms. It was inaugurated on the Flag Day, 24 February 2005.
164 x 94 ft = 55 x 31 yd = 50 x 29 m = 15,338 ft² = 1,425 m² =
0.35 ac = 0.14 ha
330 ft = 100.6 m
230 kg = 507 lbs

BRASIL The largest flag regularly hoisted in the world is the Brazilian national flag flown in the Square of the Three Powers in the capital, Brasília. This flag weighs about 600 kg (1300 lbs) and has 7,000 m² (70×100 m), or 230 by 330 ft.
330 x 230 ft = 360 x 251.5 yd = 100 x 70 m = 75,347 ft² = 7,000 m² = 1.72 ac = 0.7 ha

NORTH KOREA The highest flagpole in the world, at 160 metres = 525 ft, is that at Gijeong-dong dubbed “Propaganda Village” in North Korea, the flag weighing about 270 kg = 600 lbs  when dry. Their claim has not been unanimously accepted by the competitors for the highest unsupported flagpole.
525 ft = 160 m flagpole
270 kg = 600 lbs = 0.27 T, it weighs a bit over a qarter of a ton when dry!
2003 – JORDAN – The RAGHADAN Flagpole in Amman is currently the third tallest free-standing flagpole in the world. It reaches a height of 126 meters (410 ft) and hoists a flag that measures 60 by 40 meters (200 by 130 feet); it is illuminated at night and can be seen from 25 km = 16 miles away.
200 x 130 ft = 65 x 43.7 yd = 60 x 40 m = 25,833.3 ft² = 2,400 m² =0.59 ac = 0.24 ha
410 ft = 126 m flagpole

Same manufacturing company made the second highest flagpole the AQABA Flagpole, also in JORDAN 433 ft. A 1,200 ton crane was used to erect the flagpole on site. It carries a prominent 132 x 66 ft flag.
132 x 66 ft = 43.9 x 21.9 yd = 40.2 x 20.1 m = 8712 ft² = 809.3 m² = 0.2 ac = 0.08 ha
433 ft = 132 m flagpole

2008 – TURKMENISTAN, Ashbagad got the world’s tallest unsupported flagpole in July 2008. At 133 m = 436 ft 4 in tall, it’s the tallest unsupported pole of its kind, carrying a flag as large as two tennis courts! The 11-piece pole  was created in Dubai, UAE, and shipped to Ashgabad by trucks. A 500 T =1.1 million lb crane was then used to join them together, creating a giant, stainless steel taper that’s 2.6 m = 8 ft 6 in wide at the bottom and 0.75 m = 2 ft 5 in at the top. The total weight comes to incredible 135 T = 297, 000 lbs, and that’s without the flag: 1,837 m² =19,773 ft².
An official Tennis court is 78 ft 39 ft = 23.78 x11.8 m = 3.042 ft² = 282.6 m², so their flag has to be at least 6.5 times as large as a tennis court, if the flag is 1,837 m² =19,773 ft² as they claim.
198.8 x 99.4 ft = 66.2 x 33.1 yd = 60.6 x 30.3 m = 19,773 ft² = 1,837 m² = 0.45 ac = 0.18 ha
436 ft = 133 m flagpole

TURKMENISTAN will, however be out rivaled by the National Flag Square in Baku, AZERBAIJAN, which is currently under construction and will reach a height of 162 m.
531 ft = 162 m

2009 – many are convinced that GASTONIA, NC is home to the world’s largest flying American flag.  It measures 65 x 114 feet wide and weighs 180 pounds, and each of the 13 stripes measures 5 feet in height. Meanwhile, the 225-foot flagpole is 4 feet in diameter at the base and weighs 80,000 pounds. It is flown June 14 on Flag Day and other special occasions. The flag can be seen for 30 miles.
114 x 114 ft = 21.6 x 8 yd =19.8 x 34.7 m = 7,410 ft² = 688.4 = 0.17 ac = 0.06 ha
255 ft = 68.5m flagpole
This flagpole will be 276 ft = 97.4 m shorter than the future record holder and is 181 ft = 65.5 m sorter than the current record holder

The information is gathered based on Internet research. Some measures have been rounded up. I do not guarantee that all information is correct. All the calculations are approximate, based on conversions on the Mac OSX widget converter.