Flag Off or 'Flagged Off means official start or beginning of an event or undertaking. In this a piece of cloth, usually rectangular in size, and of distinctive color and design, is used as a symbol, standard, signal, or emblem and waved.
It is an idiomatic expression, indicating the commencement of some event- usually involving travel or movement. Such an event is either an expedition, a race, or a rally. Mostly it is a checkered flag of black and white or a flag of single color (any color) with or without emblem or signage of the event printed on it. As a ceremonial beginning often involves waving of a flag by a dignitary to signify the formal commencement of an event, it's called flag off. In naval or maritime context, a maritime flag or a naval ensign may be waved to signify the start of an expedition. On the other hand, for stationary events, such as a sporting tournament, political summit, literary meet, etc. the equivalent expression used is
kick-off
Kickoff, kick-off or kick off may refer to:
Sport
* Kick-off (association football), the method of starting a match or restarting after half-time or a scored goal
** ''Kick Off'' (magazine), a South African football magazine
** ''Kick Off'' (ser ...
.
Significance
Even though the word 'Off' often stands for a negative meaning, 'Flag off' is used to mean that somebody gave the orders to start something like a 'race'. One of the most famous flag off was at the
Formula 1
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
competition, when the first world championship race was held at
Silverstone race track in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
on May 13, 1950. A similar significant flag off event happened when the then Railway Minister
Mamata Banerjee
Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 2 ...
flagged off India's first ever point-to-point non-stop train, the Sealdah-New Delhi
Duronto Express
Duronto Express, translating to "restless" in Bengali, is a class of long-distance rapid trains operated by Indian Railways. Initially conceived to operate non-stop between origin and destination stations, since January 2016, these trains hav ...
, from the
Sealdah
Sealdah is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Etymology
Jackals (''sheal'' in Bengali) howled around Sealdah. Antiquarians identify it as Shrigaldwipa (Jackal Island). Nearby Beliaghata ...
station in
Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
on January 20, 2013. The 1st ever ‘SBI Green Marathon’, an
SBI initiative to promote sustainability was flagged off from
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
on March 25, 2018.
References
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Racing
Phrases