Short answer: at a corporate opening in Turkey, the protocol order is set by the civil administration, not by the host company or its agency. If a governor, district governor, mayor or member of parliament is on the guest list, the reference document is the Ceremonies and Celebrations Regulation published in the Official Gazette dated 5 May 2012, number 28283, together with its annexed List 1; the provincial protocol lists published by governor's offices follow it, and the order begins with the highest civil administrator of the locality. The stage layout comes from the Turkish Flag Regulation: the flag stands behind the speaker's right, the company flag behind their left, and the company flag may not be larger than the national flag. Speeches run from junior to senior, the most senior guest speaks last, and that guest cuts the ribbon. Below: how to confirm the order, how to build the speeches and the ribbon moment, flag dimensions, foreign flags, and the flag mistakes decor teams keep making.
Who decides the protocol order at an opening ceremony?
Start with a distinction. A private company opening is not an official state ceremony, so the Ceremonies and Celebrations Regulation does not govern your event directly. But the moment a governor, district governor, mayor or member of parliament appears on the guest list, everyone works from the same text: the regulation put into force by the Council of Ministers decision of 16 April 2012 and published in the Official Gazette dated 5 May 2012, number 28283, along with its annexed List 1, titled Order of Entry to Greetings in Provinces Outside the Capital. The provincial protocol lists published by governor's offices open like this: the highest civil administrator of the locality (the governor in a province, the district governor in a district), members of parliament, the senior local military commander, the metropolitan mayor and the provincial mayor, then the chief public prosecutor, university rectors and the head of the bar association. The phrase covering judges and prosecutors in the ninth row was annulled by the Council of State Tenth Chamber's decision dated 8 March 2017, file 2013/6, decision 2017/1294. Openings are also getting more frequent: TOBB figures released on 17 July 2026 show company formations in the first half of 2026 up 9.3 percent year on year. Send your guest list to the protocol office three weeks ahead and get the order confirmed in writing.
Who speaks, and in what order?
One sentence covers it: speeches move from junior to senior, the most senior guest speaks last, and nobody takes the lectern after them. The host gives the opening address, and any messages or telegrams are read after it. At events in provinces and districts the usual sequence is the head of the institution behind the ceremony first, then the civil administrator, then the most senior state official present. The host's language matters too. In Turkish practice, junior speakers are invited to the lectern, while senior guests and the guest of honour are asked to honour it with their presence, a wording difference that people in the room notice. What actually breaks a ceremony is not the order but the clock. Keep it to four speakers, tell each of them in writing that they have five minutes, and remember that an outdoor opening starts losing its crowd once the programme runs fifteen minutes long. The programme does not begin before the guest of honour arrives, and the front row stands when they do. Do not leave that to the host; put someone on the door with a radio.
Who cuts the ribbon, and how is the moment staged?
The most senior guest cuts the ribbon, with the host beside them. This is not a statutory rule but settled protocol practice: official openings are performed by the most senior person present. Everything else is staging, and it comes down to a few details. Keep the ribbon taut, in one piece and at chest height, because a sagging ribbon photographs badly. Provide one pair of scissors per person cutting, plus a spare; three people passing a single pair around is the most common accident on that stage. Mark the photographer and camera positions on the floor beforehand and check that the brand is visible on the LED screen behind the group. Then write down what happens in the sixty seconds after the cut: a tour, a reception, a route to the catering area. An opening with no plan for the moment after the ribbon falls apart within five minutes.
Where does the Turkish flag go on stage and at the lectern?
The rule on direction comes from the Turkish Flag Regulation. Article 18 places the flag behind the right of the desk in official rooms and asks that its lower edge stay at least 25 centimetres above the floor. Article 34 allows an institution's identifying flag, meaning the company flag carrying a registered emblem, to be placed behind the left of the desk. A ceremony hall follows the same logic: lectern in the centre, Turkish flag behind the speaker's right, company flag behind their left. That right is the speaker's right, so guests in the room see the national flag towards their own left. The dimensions are written down as well. Under article 4 the length of the flag is one and a half times its width, under article 5 the width is 50 centimetres or a multiple of it, and under article 6 the pole is at least twice the width of the flag, with ground-mounted poles at least three metres high. One more detail worth knowing: the pole carrying a company flag may not have the crescent and star finial on top.
How many poles outside the building, and what flies on which?
Article 35 of the regulation is explicit. Premises flying an identifying flag must have at least two poles, and looking at the front face of the building, the Turkish flag goes on the right-hand pole and the company flag on the left. Where there are three poles the Turkish flag goes on the middle one; where there are more than three it returns to the right-hand pole. If every pole carries the Turkish flag, all of them must be the same size. A company flag may not be larger than the national flag, and its pole may not be taller. If the direction confuses you, remember that right is measured from the front face of the building, so a guest arriving from the street sees it on their own left. Two further rules catch most companies out. Under article 36, identifying flags may not be used until they have been examined and registered for shape, dimensions and colour, and outside the armed forces the registering authority is the Ministry of Interior. Under article 34, an identifying flag may only be flown in front of the premises it belongs to and used at ceremonies and meetings that institution organises. Ask the venue before you raise a company flag on a rented site's pole.
When can foreign flags be flown?
International launches, openings with a foreign partner and trade fairs all land here. Article 16 of the regulation allows foreign state flags to be flown at international meetings, at fairs and at places where foreign tourists stay only together with the Turkish flag. In that case the Turkish flag goes on the first pole to the right of the building's front face. Foreign flags may not be larger than the Turkish flag and their poles may not be taller. Where more than two foreign flags are flown, the others are arranged to the left of the Turkish flag in alphabetical order. Alphabetical order is exactly the kind of thing that starts an argument, so state in writing, before the event, which alphabet you are using. Demand keeps growing: ICCA data for 2025 put Istanbul 13th in Europe and 18th worldwide with 95 international congresses hosted, while Turkey ranked 33rd globally with 142. On an event of that size, planning the flag sequence is not a job for the night of the load-in.
What is prohibited? Table covers, lectern wraps and decor
This is where decor teams get into trouble. Article 7 of Law 2893 on the Turkish Flag and article 26 of the regulation state that the flag may not be used torn, unstitched, patched, holed, dirty, faded or creased, may not be spread as a cover over tables or lecterns for any purpose other than official oath ceremonies, and may not be placed where people sit or step. The same provisions ban reproducing the shape of the flag on such items, which means a printed flag graphic on a lectern front or a table skirt is not compliant. Using the flag as the base or background on the front or back of a company emblem or pennant is prohibited too. The exception in article 21 is narrow: the flag may be draped over Atatürk statues at opening ceremonies and over tables at oath ceremonies. Article 25 says no flag is flown or placed on buildings whose construction is unfinished, which is the one line groundbreaking ceremonies need to know. Publicly degrading the Turkish flag by tearing or burning it, or in any other way, carries one to three years in prison under article 300 of the Turkish Penal Code. One date to keep: the flag flies at half-mast on 10 November.
How do you build the run of show and the checklist?
Split the programme into three blocks. The welcome block opens 45 minutes before the invitation time, with a separate reception point for protocol guests and one person holding the name list. The second block is the lectern: host introduction, speeches from junior to senior, any messages read out, then the ribbon. The third is the tour and the reception. Keep the checklist short. Is the protocol order confirmed in writing by the governor's or district governor's office? Are the national and company flags clean, pressed and correctly sized? Is the pole sequence right when read from the building's front face? Were the lectern, seats and name cards set during the rehearsal? Are the scissors, ribbon and spares on site? Are the photo positions marked? Is there a rain plan? Tales Event works out of Istanbul and plans openings, launches, dealer meetings, gala nights and graduation ceremonies across Turkey, handling stage, sound, lighting, LED screen and decor alongside the protocol flow. Share your ceremony date, venue and guest list, and we will map the protocol layout, the stage plan and the run of show in one document.
Let's talk about your event
Tell us your idea and we will prepare the concept and quote.