Grab your partners! The world’s largest dance by couples takes place in Hungary

A classic dance that needs no explanation or rehearsal is the "slow dance" - the romantic, cheek-by-jowl sway enjoyed by everyone from first daters at a high school prom to senior couples celebrating their silver anniversary.

It was in the less-than-romantic venue of a sports field earlier this month, however, that the largest-ever slow dance was recently attempted in order to beat the record of 2,515 couples set in the so-called city of love, Paris, in 2009.

The Athletics Centre on Margaret Island, the green-park island located on the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary, was the location, on 9 June 2012, of a concert staged by Milka (Hungary), creators of the famous alpine milk chocolate, and event organizers HPS Experience.

The concept was the "Milka Day of Slow Dance" - a chance to enjoy some delicious chocolate and indulge in a smoochy pairing with a pal. Providing the music were Djs and live performances from Hungarian pop sensations Viktor Király, Zséda and Renáta Tolvai.

As thousands of people flowed into the Athletics Centre, stewards issued everyone with a barcoded wristband, which were then scanned as the participants entered the officially roped-off dance area.

Adjudicating for Guinness World Records was Craig Glenday, the book's Editor-in-Chief, who received a live update on the number of scanned dancers on a specially designed iPad app that allowed him to know exactly how many people were in the stadium at any given point.

The actual attempt was scheduled to take place on live TV, and as the countdown to the broadcast began, it was looking like there may not have been enough people.

"I was getting nervous for them," says Craig. "The place was filling up but time was tight - and you always have to factor in that many people don't take part, even if they've been scanned in. You need way more people than simply two more than the previous number, as it's the adjudicator's role to disqualify any non-dancer."

However, at the appointed time, the total count was up to 5,323 people which, minus the 135 that Craig disqualified for not dancing, was sufficient to break the record.

So with 5,188 people - or 2,594 couples - the Guinness World Records certificate was awarded.

"Perhaps it's time to rethink Paris as the city of Love," suggests Craig, "and award the title to romantic, beautiful Budapest!"