2,000 perform in record-setting virtual show
Rockin’ 1000, the ‘biggest rock band on Earth’, set a new world record on Friday night after bringing together 2,500 performers for a single virtual concert.
The Italian-born music collective – which achieved viral fame in summer 2015 with their 1,000-person rendition of Foo Fighters’ ‘Learn to Fly’ – broke the Guinness World Record for ‘most videos in a music medley video’ with a virtual concert streamed live from Global Village, the Dubai entertainment and shopping complex, on 30 October.
Nearly 2,000 people from more than 80 countries participated in the event, performing a medley of Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’, Joey Ramone’s ‘What a Wonderful World’, Status Quo’s ‘Rockin’ All Over the World’ and New Radicals’ ‘You Get What You Give’ for the so-called ‘Global Gig’, co-produced by Global Village, Arabian Radio Network and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
Fabio Zaffagnini, founder and general manager of Rockin’ 1000, comments: It was our pleasure to perform together with our members from around the world and we are grateful for this opportunity to be part of the Global Village silver jubilee celebrations. The experience is one that we will never forget, and Global Village will always hold a special place in our hearts, as we look forward to visiting in person as soon as we can.”
At press time, Rockin’ 1000’s ‘Global Gig’, which can be watched back above, had been seen by 355,000 people.
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Metallica smash The O2 attendance record
Metallica last night made history by playing to a record-breaking 22,211 people at The O2 in London, smashing the previous record of 21,000 set by Muse in 2016.
The ‘in-the-round’ format allowed for an extended seating capacity for the US rockers’ two O2 shows, part of the UK leg of their WorldWide tour, which now heads to the SSE Hydro in Glasgow.
To mark the occasion, Metallica were presented with a specially commissioned illustration by The O2’s head of programming, Christian D’Acuna.
“It was an honour to host the heavy metal rock gods at the venue and they did not disappoint”
He comments: “Metallica smashed the highest attendance record during both of their shows at The O2. It was an honour to host the heavy metal rock gods at the venue and they did not disappoint, delivering an incredible show in the round, full of hits spanning their whole career.
“It’s been a great year for rock bands at The O2, with the likes of Green Day and Foo Fighters gracing our stage and Queens of the Stone Age and Deep Purple still to come. We hope the epic shows continue with our new 6k-capacity standing floor.”
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Brian Cox breaks record at SSE Arena Wembley show
British physicist Brian Cox OBE set a new Guinness World Record for most tickets sold for a science show with his performance at The SSE Arena, Wembley, last Friday (26 May).
Cox was presented with an award frame by the arena’s operations manager, Audrey Kane, after the show, which had an attendance of 8,787.
Cox comments: “I’m very grateful to everyone who has come to see these arena shows. We’ve shared evenings chatting about the size and scale of the universe, our place amongst the limitless stars and, crucially, the value of human life on our small planet.
“8,787 people at Wembley Arena? Who does Brian Cox think he is: Ed Sheeran?”
“The size of the venues has allowed us to display the most beautiful images of the cosmos taken by Cassini, the Hubble Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory on a spectacular scale, and I am honoured to have had the opportunity to showcase the work of hundreds of astronomers across the world to so many people.”
Guinness World Records’ editor-in-chief, Craig Glenday, adds: “8,787 people at Wembley Arena? Who does Brian Cox think he is: Ed Sheeran? Another fantastic achievement from the now-multiple record holder” – Cox also holds the record for most tickets sold for a science tour – “the galaxy is the limit for the professor.”
During the Wembley show, the arena joined music venues across Europe to hold a minute’s silence – followed by a minute of noise – for victims of the Manchester Arena bombing.
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Pub breaks longest livestream record, keeps going
The Earl of Whitchurch, the Canadian pub currently bidding to break the Guinness World Record for the longest concert by multiple artists, has just broken another record in the process: for the longest show live-streamed on the internet.
The pub, in Stouffville, Ontario, breaks a record currently held by Touchdowns Bar and Grill in Mississauga, also in Ontario.
In an email to Alan Cross, Kevin Ker, the organiser of the record attempt, explains:
“Things are fantastic! I feel like I’ve been awake for 10 days straight, fuelled by the incredible energy of this event. Everyone who walks in the door can feel it.
“We have raised close to [C]$50,000 for charity. It’s absolutely mind-blowing. I could’ve have never imagined how successful this would become.
“We surpassed the world record for the longest live-streamed concert on Saturday Morning at 8am. It was a quick announcement, followed by a quick round of high-fives/hugs than back to business as usual.
Every single night has seen a line-up at the door. Stouffville has never seen anything like this. On Saturday, the mayor and his group couldn’t get in as we were at capacity.”
Ker adds that the Earl of Whitchurch’s bid now has an end point – 2 April – following the withdrawal of a rival attempt in Michigan. “The competition with Detroit has ended and we have a clear target,” he explains. “As far as we are understand, they officially stopped at 5pm last night with a text from the organiser that read: ‘Oh, Canada… my fingers are tired.'”
A live broadcast of the event can be viewed on YouTube above.
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Canadian artists in longest gig record attempt
Canadian booking agency and label Epidemic Music Group today begins its Guinness World Record attempt for the longest concert held by multiple artists.
The record is currently held by the Rí Rá Irish pub in Las Vegas, which hosted a show lasting 372 hours and ten minutes from 1 October to 17 October 2014.
The new attempt, involving more than 380 bands, runs for 16 days at the Earl of Whitchurch pub (pictured) in Stouffville, Ontario, and is timed to coincide with 150 years since Canadian confederation.
The performers must have an audience of at least ten people at all times for the record to count.
The Stouffville show will raise money for 16 charities, including Sick Kids, the Markham Stouffville Hospital, 360 Kids, North Toronto Cat Rescue, Artscan Circle, Songs 4 Steffi, the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada and the Family Navigation Project, as well as the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research, founded by Tragically Hip frontman Downie, who has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
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