Documentary crew follows tallest man Sultan Kösen as he signs GWR books for young fans
The world’s tallest man Sultan Kösen (Türkiye) delighted young fans when he joined us in London for a very special book signing.
Sultan, who is celebrating his 43rd birthday, popped by Hamleys in the UK capital to sign copies of Guinness World Records 2026 alongside Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday.
And the exciting visit was captured by a documentary crew from Channel 4, with the footage set to air in 2026.
The former farmer, who stands at an unbelievable 251 cm (8 ft 2.8 in), has featured within the pages of our annual book many times.
He once said: "I never imagined I would be in the book, I dreamed about it, but it was still a huge surprise."
Sultan first broke the record in 2009 with a height of 246.5 cm (8 ft 1 in) and extended his record in 2011 with his current height.
Craig and Sultan
People of all ages lined up to meet Sultan and have their picture taken with him after securing his autograph.
Children in particular looked up in awe at the man who towered high above them.
And some delighted in holding their hands up to Sultan’s to compare the size.
Of course they were nowhere near as big as his, as Sultan also holds the record for largest hands on a living person (male) with measurements of 28.5 cm (11.22 in) from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger.
In footage captured by our social media team inside the store, Sultan is seen wandering the aisles, and it’s clear he’d have no issue reaching things on the top shelf.
He’s so tall that he had to duck underneath the Christmas decorations hanging from the ceiling.
Sultan excitedly waved at the waiting crowd, saying: “Hi, how are you? I miss you!”
Sultan, who is a Guinness World Records ICON, was the first person over 8 ft tall to be measured in more than 20 years.
Believe it or not, despite his superlative stature, he’s still much shorter than the tallest man ever Robert Wadlow, who was 272 cm (8 ft 11 in) tall.
There are only around 10 confirmed cases of people growing to over 8 ft tall throughout all of history, meaning Sultan and Robert belong to a very exclusive club.