The City of Guelph courtesy flagpole is located in front of City Hall. The City also has lighting that can be changed for special events to light up Market Square.
Upcoming events
Eligibility to fly a courtesy flag or light up Market Square
The courtesy flagpole and lights at Market Square (both located at City Hall) can be used to:
- Celebrate a non-profit or charitable organization’s event or campaign.
- Recognize a state visit or a visit from other governments.
- Recognize other organizations or events at the discretion of the Mayor and/or Chief Administrative Officer (CAO).
Requests will not be approved for:
- Political parties or organizations.
- Religious organizations or in celebration of religious events.
- Commercial entities.
- If the intent is contrary to City policies or By-laws.
- If the group requesting the raising espouses hatred, violence, or racism.
- Groups that have already flown a courtesy flag or lit up Market Square during the same calendar year.
Requests should be submitted in writing no more than four months prior to the date and at least two weeks prior to the date. All requests will be processed and confirmed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Application to request Courtesy Flag raising and/or Market Square lighting
Courtesy flag raising
- If your organization would like the Mayor or a representative to be present for the flag raising, please indicate this on your application.
- Courtesy flags will be raised and displayed for one week. If no other courtesy flag requests are made for the following week, the existing flag can be flown for more than one week, if specified on the request form.
- Flags need to be provided to Service Guelph at least five days in advance of the scheduled date, with instructions regarding how the flag is to be flown.
- Courtesy flags will be raised and lowered during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday) when staff and equipment resources are available.
- Flags must be picked up from Service Guelph within five business days following the event.
Market Square lighting
- The lights are programmed using a colour wheel and we can do several different shades of lights, but the colour may not be exactly what is being requested. We do our best to get as close as possible to the requested colour.
- Lights will be active from dusk until dawn on the selected date.