July 27, 2015 A suburb in Manila has broken a Guinness World record for the largest Zumba class held in a single venue. Zumba is a dance fitness activity created by a Colombian dancer in the 1990s, and involves aerobic exercises and dance choreography.
The record breaking event saw a total of 12,975 participants in yellow T-shirts gathered on the streets of Mandaluyong, dancing continuously to high tempo music for 30 minutes. They were encouraged to keep dancing by dozens of instructor. Guinness officials stood nearby, observing the programme to ensure that every participant was dancing on their feet during the 30 minute session.
Guinness World Record Adjudicator Alan Pixley confirmed the record had been achieved.
“The largest Zumba class, the current record to beat was 8,232. I can tell you today that the city of Mandaluyong got 12, 975, which means they are the new Guinness World record title holder,”
According to the Guinness World Record website, the previous record was achieved in 2014 by a fitness group in the central Philippine island of Cebu with 8,232 participants.
Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos is happy with the outcome and said the new record will help promote the local government’s campaign for a healthy lifestyle.
“This is a double whammy for us. We have a United Nations Award and now we have a Guinness World Record for a healthy lifestyle,” he said, mentioning a recent U.N. Public Service award the local government received for its initiative on helping underprivileged children with special needs.
The local government has organized fitness events for the past four years, with regular exercise programmes held during the weekends. In March this year, thousands of participants held a similar massive dance exercise to campaign for women’s health.