My first adjudication for Guinness World Records took place in sunny Spain. True to form, the sun shone down on Plaza Zorilla, Valladolid, on Sunday 5th September to welcome the participants for the world record attempt for the most people twirling flags.For the event organisers, Coordinadora de Peñas de Valladolid, attempting to break Guinness World Record categories has become an annual tradition, and their way of celebrating the city's week of fiestas. In 2007 they broke the record for the largest water pistol fight, and in 2008 they achieved the the record for the longest chain of people licking lollipops. The events attract visitors from across the globe...and this year was certainly no exception.
The initial stage of this record event involved record participants registering and collecting a Spanish flag which, in matter of hours they would be waving collectively (and almost certainly with a great deal of national pride). Within four hours the number of participants had well exceeded the previous record of 5,268, achieved in India just a month prior to the attempt...but Valladolid still had a long way to go before the much anticipated record title could officially be theirs.
Once the final participant had entered the designated area for the record attempt, the ring leaders (or perhaps more aptly, the flag twirling leaders) demonstrated the correct way to twirl flags according to Guinness World Record guidelines, which stipulate that all participants must follow the same rhythm for 5 minutes without dropping their flags...who knew flag twirling could be so complicated!?
Participants rehearsed and ready, I signalled for the record attempt to begin, armed with stopwatch and eager eyes. A vibrant sea of red and yellow flags moved harmoniously in time to the music for over 5 minutes- proving that practice really does make perfect.
The record was a success, and the final number of participants was...35 000 people exactly! Now that's what I call mass participation and certainly deserves recognition as a Guinness World Records achievement. Well done Valladolid!
Source - guinnessworldrecords
