Record-breaking Canadian flag installed on Grouse Mountain for FIFA World Cup

Social media was abuzz when a giant Canadian flag suddenly appeared on Grouse Mountain Tuesday.

Social media lit up Tuesday afternoon when a giant Canadian flag suddenly appeared on The Cut, a ski run on Grouse Mountain overlooking Vancouver.

The tourist attraction had kept its plans for the major FIFA World Cup installation a secret.

“We were looking at something that showcased our Canadian pride as the World Cup came to Vancouver,” said Adam Rootman with Grouse Mountain. “We thought placing a giant flag on The Cut would be a great way to express our support for the home squad.”

The flag was originally going to be installed horizontally facing the city. But Allan Louie—founder of Blast Media Print, which was contracted to make the flag—realized if they went bigger, they had a chance to break a Guinness World Record .

“So we made it 160 by 80 meters,” said Louie. “The flag is so big that we had to tilt it up onto its side just to fit onto The Cut.”

Making the largest Canadian flag ever produced was no easy feat.

“It was 20 days of printing it nonstop. It’s 60 panels. And then we had to sew all of the panels together and everything had to be registered perfectly to make sure the Canadian flag looks perfect,” said Louie.

It took a team of 100 to install the giant flag, which is held in place with airplane cables and a dozen solid concrete blocks.

“We carried in lengthwise down the hill and then we attached it to the cable and then whole team pulled it out at once,” said Rootman. “It was actually a remarkably smooth installation process.”

After taking exact measurements, a Guinness Book of World Records adjudicator made it official on Wednesday, confirming the maple leaf is the largest flag ever unfurled on a mountain.

“There’s a huge amount of pride to have a record worldwide,” said Rootman.

“I grew up on Grouse Mountain. I’ve been coming up here since I was a tiny little kid,” said Louie. “To get this opportunity to do this for our city during the FIFA World Cup while the world’s eyes are on our beautiful city means everything to me.”

The world record breaking flag will remain in place at least though Canada Day.

“We’re just going to kind of keep an eye on the integrity of the flag and make a decision as we go,” said Rootman, who’s excited to have World Cup visitors see it up close and from a distance.

“We wanted to make it visible from many other places around the Vancouver region,” Rootman said. “It’s just a really cool way to welcome guests who are coming for the World Cup.”