The construction of a new ceremonial flag square is included in Tallinn's coalition agreement, concluded last December by the Center Party and Isamaa. The relevant clause states: "We will establish a representative square in Tallinn for the Estonian flag, symbolizing our country's freedom and identity."

However, the agreement does not specify that the blue‑black‑white flag to be hoisted there should be of enormous size.

The public likely learned about the new dimensions from a social media post by Tallinn City Council Chairman Mihhail Kõlvart on May 13, which showed both the location and the scale. The new flag square would be located on the green area at the intersection of Pirita tee and Narva maantee near the Song Festival Grounds, an area colloquially known as the "Russalka intersection," after the nearby monument by sculptor Amandus Adamson. According to the chairman's design, the flagpole would be 40 meters high and the flag itself would measure 6.40×10 meters.

Looking at the plan, the promised ceremonial square isn't really being built — there would only be a ceremonial flag. The triangular patch of greenery could likely be improved and made more dignified around the base of the pole. One could agree with the argument that the new flag would be placed in a location highly visible during the Song Festival parade.

However, erecting such a gigantic flag doesn't seem particularly justified. First, Tallinn already has a ceremonial flag. It is raised at sunrise on Toompea, atop the Tall Hermann tower, accompanied by a musical signal. The flag on Hermann flies at an elevation of 95 meters above sea level and its meaning goes far beyond that of just another tricolor in a visible location. As long as the Estonian flag flies on Hermann, Estonia is free.

By contrast, the giant flag on Pirita tee would inevitably be a project tinged with the political flavor of the current city government and could never achieve comparable symbolism. It is also likely that it would not be raised every morning, meaning it would need to be illuminated at night — though that is not in itself a significant obstacle.

Kõlvart's flag plan has also become a battleground for political debate, much like the entirely non-political tram project on Liivalaia tänav before local elections. Reform Party youth activist and video blogger Daniil Kurakin proposed an alternative idea on the citizen initiative platform rahvaalgatus.ee: to create a flag square on nearby Maarjamäe Hill and install a flagpole with the Estonian national flag in place of the Soviet-era obelisk there. As of Thursday, the initiative had gathered 248 signatures — hardly a sign of widespread popularity.

This plan has at least one positive aspect compared to Kõlvart's: it would partly address the long-debated issue of the Maarjamäe Memorial, which has been kicked around like a hot potato for years. There has been no courage to demolish the structure with its empty vibe, yet renovating it in its current form doesn't make much sense either. At least now one concrete idea has been presented for reinterpreting the old stuff.

Still, why does hoisting a ten‑meter flag not seem like a particularly good idea? Mainly because boasting about size does not reflect Estonian values. Estonia has always been characterized by a tendency toward modesty, small scale and at times minimalism. From the late 1980s, the author remembers graffiti appearing in Tallinn that read: "Small is beautiful." That slogan seemed reasonable compared to the rampant gigantomania in the Soviet Union, its plans to reverse rivers and other such schemes.

Estonia is a small country and although Lennart Meri's once‑proposed summit of the world's small states in Tallinn never came to pass, we have not grown bigger in the meantime. It feels a bit silly now to declare: "Look! We put up a very large flag by the sea so it can be seen from afar!"

By the way, in central Tallinn, there is the slightly underutilized Kompassi Square, which could be developed into a pleasant and representative flag square. It would certainly be a more local people-friendly option than a real estate developer's large construction project. True, the land there belongs to a private owner — but is that an insurmountable obstacle? I believe the Tallinn city government is quite capable of successfully resolving complex issues.

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