Editing Flag (section)

==Flagpoles==
{{main|Flagpole}}
[[File:SienaFlagpole1.jpg|thumbnail|One of the two 60-foot-tall flagpoles in the [[Siena Cathedral]]. During the [[battle of Montaperti]] (1260), Bocca degli Abati, a Sienese spy, brought Florence's flag down, causing panic among the Florentine soldiers and ultimately their defeat.]]

A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff can be a simple support made of wood or metal. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The flag is fixed to one lower end of the cord, and is then raised by pulling on the other end. The cord is then tightened and tied to the pole at the bottom. The pole is usually topped by a flat plate or ball called a "[[Truck (rigging)|truck]]" (originally meant to keep a wooden pole from splitting) or a [[finial]] in a more complex shape. Very high flagpoles may require more complex support structures than a simple pole, such as a [[guyed mast]].

[[Dwajasthambam]] are flagpoles commonly found at the entrances of [[South India]]n [[Hindu temple]]s.<ref>[[Alf Hiltebeitel|Hiltebeitel, Alf]] (1991). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=diPh4qYtjPUC The Cult of Draupadi, Volume 2: On Hindu Ritual and the Goddess]''. University of Chicago Press. {{ISBN|0226340473}}. pp. 91–92.</ref>

===Record heights===
[[File:Flagpole, Kew Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 227188.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The former flagpole in Kew Gardens, taken shortly before its removal in 2007]]

Since 26 December 2021, the [[List of flagpoles by height|tallest free-standing flagpole]] in the world is the Cairo Flagpole, located in the [[New Administrative Capital]] under construction in [[Egypt]] at a height of {{convert|201.952|m|ft|abbr=on}}, exceeding the former record holders, the [[Jeddah Flagpole]] in [[Saudi Arabia]] (height: {{convert|171|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=semicolon}}), the [[Dushanbe Flagpole]] in [[Tajikistan]]<ref name="Jeddah Flagpole">{{cite web|url=http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/634401 |title= Jeddah Flagpole inaugurated|publisher=arabnews.com |access-date=2014-09-23}}</ref><ref>Former record: {{cite web |title=Wer baut den hoechsten Fahnenmast |date=September 9, 2008 |url=http://news.tj/ru/news/v-dushanbe-na-samom-vysokom-flagshtoke-v-mire-podnyat-flag-foto |publisher=Asia Plus |access-date=May 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404114645/https://news.tj/ru/news/v-dushanbe-na-samom-vysokom-flagshtoke-v-mire-podnyat-flag-foto |archive-date=April 4, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> (height: {{convert|165|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=semicolon}}) and the [[National Flag Square|National Flagpole]] in [[Azerbaijan]] (height: {{convert|162|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=semicolon}}).<ref>{{cite web |title=Flag of Azerbaijan |date=July 3, 2008 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/tajikistan/8157189/Tajikistan-takes-flag-pole-war-to-new-heights.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/tajikistan/8157189/Tajikistan-takes-flag-pole-war-to-new-heights.html |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |publisher=Telegraph.co.uk}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The flagpole in North Korea is the fourth tallest flagpole in the world, however, it is not free-standing. It is a radio tower supported flagpole. Many of these were built by American company Trident Support: the Dushanbe Flagpole, the National Flagpole in Azerbaijan, the [[Ashgabat Flagpole|Ashgabat flagpole]] in Turkmenistan at {{convert|133|m|ft|abbr=on}}; the [[Aqaba Flagpole]] in Jordan at {{convert|130|m|ft|abbr=on}}; the [[Raghadan Flagpole]] in Jordan at {{convert|126.8|m|ft|abbr=on}}; and the Abu Dhabi Flagpole in the United Arab Emirates at {{convert|122|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|date=2017-09-05|title=Looking for Afghanistan? Turn Left at the Enormous Flagpole|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/articles/2017-09-looking-afghanistan-turn-left-enormous-flagpole/?sf111671937=1#!|website=National Geographic}}</ref>

The current tallest flagpole in India (and the tallest flying the tricolour) is the {{convert|110|m|ft|adj=on}} flagpole in [[Belgaum]], Karnataka which was first hoisted on 12 March 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=Karnataka's Belgaum is now home to India's tallest flag |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/the-buzz/article/tallest-flag-in-india-attari-border-indian-national-flag-belgaum-ramesh-jarkiholi-largest-biggest-flagpole-flag-hoisting-rules-and-regulation/206890 |website=Times Now News |date=13 March 2018 |access-date=6 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=Mar 12, 2018|title=Tallest flag in India: Country's tallest tricolour to be hoisted in Belagavi |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hubballi/countrys-tallest-tricolour-to-be-hoisted-in-belagavi/articleshow/63249848.cms |website=The Times of India |access-date=6 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref> The tallest flagpole in the United Kingdom from 1959 until 2013 stood in [[Kew Gardens]]. It was made from a Canadian Douglas-fir tree and was {{convert|68.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height.<ref>{{cite web| title=Timber! Steeplejacks to dismantle Kew Flagpole|url=http://www.kew.org/press/flagpole.html| publisher=Kew.org| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817234628/http://www.kew.org/press/flagpole.html| archive-date=2016-08-17}}</ref>

The current tallest flagpole in the United States (and the tallest flying an American flag) is the {{convert|400|ft|m|adj=on}} pole completed before [[Memorial Day]] 2014 and custom-made with an {{convert|11|ft|m|adj=on}} base in concrete by [[wind turbine]] manufacturer Broadwind Energy. It is situated on the north side of the [[Acuity Insurance]] headquarters campus along [[Interstate 43]] in [[Sheboygan, Wisconsin]], and is visible from [[Cedar Grove, Wisconsin|Cedar Grove]]. The pole can fly a 220-pound flag in light wind conditions and a heavier 350-pound flag in higher wind conditions.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/20140525/SHE0101/305250197/High-flying-Up-time-Memorial-Day-Acuity-flag-world-s-tallest|title=High-flying: Up in time for Memorial Day, Acuity flag is world's tallest|last=Weyandt|first=Janet|date=25 May 2014|work=[[The Sheboygan Press]]|access-date=26 May 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403170745/http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/20140525/SHE0101/305250197/High-flying-Up-time-Memorial-Day-Acuity-flag-world-s-tallest|archive-date=3 April 2015}}</ref>

===Design===
Flagpoles can be designed in one piece with a taper (typically a steel taper or a [[entasis|Greek entasis]] taper),<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050228014231/http://lingoinc.com/tapers.htm |archive-date=2005-02-28 |url=http://lingoinc.com/tapers.htm |title=Cone Tapered vs. Venetian Entasis Tapered |publisher=Lingo Flagpoles Inc}}</ref> or be made from multiple pieces to make them able to expand. In the United States, [[ANSI|ANSI/NAAMM]] guide specification FP-1001-97 covers the engineering design of metal flagpoles to ensure safety.

<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Bickleigh , Bickleigh Maize Maze - Flagpole - geograph.org.uk - 1223767.jpg|Flagpole of modest size, with simple [[Truck (rigging)|truck]]
File:New Zealand flag at Auckland Airport.jpg|Large flagpole, showing structured [[Truck (rigging)|truck]] (New Zealand)
File:Two official flags of New Caledonia on same flagpole.png|[[New Caledonia]] has two flags, flown here in [[Nouméa]], the capital city, on a single flagpole with a crossbar
File:Thanjavur periya kovil-tamil nadu.JPG|[[Dwajasthambam]] (flagpole) at [[Brihadeeswarar Temple]] in [[Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu]], India
</gallery>