Breaking Records on the Mountain: How We Unfurled the World’s Largest Flag on Grouse Mountain
There is no shortage of pride when it comes to celebrating Canada, but our team at Blast Media Print just took national pride to an entirely new peak—literally.
We are incredibly excited to share the official documentary capturing our most audacious feat yet: breaking the Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Flag Unfurled on a Mountain. 🇨🇦🏔️
Here is the inside story of how we turned a massive vision into reality on Vancouver’s iconic Grouse Mountain, just as the city welcomes the world for the FIFA World Cup.
The Vision: A Flag Visible to the Entire City
The idea sparked during a conversation between our own Allan Louie and Adam Rootman from Grouse Mountain. With the eyes of the world on Vancouver for the matches at BC Place, we wanted to create something unforgettable that the entire city could enjoy and feel proud of.
While we initially considered a few different locations, we ultimately set our sights on "The Cut"—Grouse Mountain's famous ski run. Because The Cut faces the city, it is perfectly visible from across the region, including from BC Place and the PNE fairgrounds.
However, the steep terrain meant we couldn't lay the flag horizontally. To make it work, we had to engineer a way to position the entire layout vertically down the mountain slope.
By The Numbers: A True Heavyweight
To truly appreciate the scale of what our production team pulled off, look at the staggering numbers behind this massive Canadian flag:
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Dimensions: 160 meters tall by 80 meters wide
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Total Weight: Roughly 3,000 lbs
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Scale: Almost the size of two football fields
The Logistical Challenge: Helicopters & Land Surveys
Bringing a 3,000-lb flag up a mountain is only half the battle. Our crew worked in lockstep with the phenomenal Grouse Mountain operations team to devise a foolproof installation plan.
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Precision Surveying: Our team headed up the back Forest Service roads to stake out the exact perimeter on the ski run, measuring out the precise corners where the flag would land.
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Clearing the Obstacles: Right in the middle of our drop zone sat two massive, tower-mounted snow guns. To clear the path, Talon Helicopters was brought in to hook up the snowblowers and airlift them completely out of the way to the other side of the mountain.
Unfurling Day: Trusting the Process
When the day finally arrived, our team gathered at the top of The Cut to get the flag out of its custom crate. Handling that much fabric on an exposed mountain slope means battling the elements—a single sudden wind gust could compromise the entire project.
Our crew utilized specialized "quick clips" to secure the downhill side of the flag to a wire rigging system engineered by the mountain's operations team. Backed by five or six backup plans, our team executed the drop seamlessly, watching the massive sea of red and white fabric roll smoothly down the hill.
Shattering a Guinness World Record
The ultimate reward came when an official Guinness World Records adjudicator arrived on-site to measure and certify the attempt.
The final results blew us away. The previous world record, held by Mongolia, stood at 4,607 square meters. The new official world record set by Blast Media Print Corp and Grouse Mountain shattered that number with a final surface area of 12,258 square meters—nearly tripling the previous record!
Seeing the massive maple leaf standard sitting proud on the mountain is an absolute career-highlight moment for everyone at Blast Media Print. We couldn't be prouder to have produced a true piece of history.
Want to watch our team in action and see exactly how we pulled off this historic feat? Check out the full documentary by Velour Productions below!
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