Largest human image of a country record broken again with almost 5,000 people in Romania

One of our most highly contested records, the Largest human image of a country/ continent, has been broken yet again with an astonishing 4,807 people recreating the silhouette of Romania in Alba Iulia on 29 September 2018.

The event was organised to commemorate the centenary of the Great Union, a Romanian national holiday that celebrates the unification of Transylvania, Bessarabia, and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom in 1918. 

Organised by event agency Asociata 11even with the support of the Alba Iulia City Hall, Kaufland Romania and a group of companies and partner NGOs, the mass participation event was part of the official agenda for the Great Union Centenary.

The record-holders for the event are Asociatia 11even, Alba Iulia City Hall and supermarket brand Kaufland (all Romania).

After being approached by Asociatia 11even, Guinness World Records’ corporate services team worked closely with the agency to create a memorable and record-breaking event for centenary.

The event saw people from Alba Iulia participating, but also from the surrounding cities such as Cluj Napoca, Sibiu, Deva and Oradea. Among the participants were children from the local schools, students from the University, local workers, and local sport teams.

The shape was held for 5 minutes 27 seconds, during which time a cartographer verified that the shape matched that of Romania.

The history of the record

1. The record was first set by by Saudi Telecom Company (STC) at the King Abdulaziz Complex (STC HQ), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 5 September 2016, when 600 participants formed the country Saudi Arabia to celebrate Saudi National Day.

2. The record was then broken by Belron International, who organised an event where 811 people formed the image of Africa at Beaumont Estate, Old Windsor, UK, on 23 September 2016. The record attempt was a part of the Spirit of Belron Challenge event and raised funds for Afrika Tikkun, a charity protecting impoverished children in South Africa.

3. Pupils from St. Ignatius’ College, Riverview (Australia) in New South Wales, Australia, then took the record on 15 November 2017. They formed an image of Timor Leste, consisting of 1,087 people. They organised the event to raise funds for Colégio de Sto Inácio de Loiola, a secondary school located in Timor Leste, with which Ignatius’ College has a close relationship.

4. The most recent holder of this record before Asociatia 11even, Alba Iulia City Hall and Kaufland was Telenor Myanmar (Myanmar), who added more than 2000 people to the total headcount with 3,466 participants at their event on 12 February 2018 in Magway, Myanmar. They recreated the image of Myanmar on Union Day, which celebrated the day Mayanmar (then Burma) became a unified country.