Carnaby Street’s Record Breaking Games
From today, Guinness World Records is challenging the public to become Totally Bonkers Sporting Champions live in Carnaby Street. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week, Guinness World Records will unveil an exclusive sporting challenge and offer you the chance to claim a world record title. Forget about the athletes breaking records in the Olympic Park for the moment: here’s your chance to become a world champion at the fastest tying of shoelaces wearing boxing gloves, for example, or the most bounces on a spacehopper. The Carnaby Street Games take place between 12.30 and 1.30pm on Carnaby Street. Every participant will receive a Carnaby canvas shopping bag, so even if you don’t break the record you won’t go away empty handed.

Greenwich Market’s Special Summer
If you’re visiting Greenwich during the London 2012 Olympic or Paralympic Games, don’t miss your chance to visit Greenwich Market too. As well as the usual brilliant shops and stalls, there are new heart-shaped art installations and a number of pop-up shops just for the summer. Look out for Pop Up@SE10, a new designer-maker venture on Nelson road, featuring local and London-based designers, makers and artists’ fashion, furniture, jewellery, glass and ceramics. It’s open from 12-8pm during the Games. RN@Greenwich is another pop-up. PO CIS Gunton and I CIS Reffell run and manage the shop on board HMS Ocean for their welfare fund, which is spent on morale-building events for the crew such as barbecues or film nights. The shop will be open daily from midday ’til late, until they sail after the Games.

Get Into the Games at Westfield London
There are even more reasons to visit Westfield London this summer. Every Monday and Thursday, there’s live music in the centre; visit with the kids on Tuesdays and you can meet Fireman Sam, Fifi and Bumble, Postman Pat, Angelina Ballerina and more. There are also arts and crafts activities at the Disney Store for little shoppers with big imaginations. If you hit the shopping centre on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, you can have a go at various sports in and around the centre, including table tennis, gymnastics and even free running. Shopping hours have been extended until 10pm, Monday to Saturday and til 9pm on Sundays. If you can’t bear to be away from the Olympic Games action, you’ll be pleased to hear there are big screens set up inside the centre too, so you won’t miss a thing!

Read more about shopping in London here: visitlondon.com/attractions/shopping

British soldiers set a new world record at Wellington Barracks today in an egg-straordinary display of “Most People Dipping Egg Soldiers Simultaneously”.

More than 100 Number 7 Company Coldstream Guards and other members of the Household Division lined up to simultaneously “double dip” toast soldiers into soft-boiled eggs to take the Guinness World Records title.

The feat was part of London & Partners’ World Record London. In the past six months, London has achieved 20 world records, and generated more than 16,000 new record holders, marking the start of a spectacular summer in the capital.

Marco Frigatti, Head of Records at Guinness World Records, said: “There has been a spectacular range of records achieved in the capital as a result of World Record London and Guinness World Records has welcomed a host of new entrants to our family of record holders. Today’s latest record breaking achievement completes an officially amazing start to 2012 for London.”

All records were adjudicated by Guinness World Records – the universal authority on record-breaking achievement – and records achieved by London in 2012 include:

1. Longest marathon hugging welcoming the world to London
2. Longest curtsey relay in five minutes
3. Most entrants in an egg hunt competition
4. Largest reading lesson (multiple venues)
5. Most expensive chocolate egg sold at auction (non-jewelled)
6. Largest archaeological archive – Museum of London
7. Tallest costume to complete a marathon;
8. Fastest marathon hula-hooping;
9. Fastest marathon on stilts (just three of the 29 Guinness World Records set at the 2012 Virgin London Marathon)
10. First recorded Mr. Punch puppet show – to commemorate 350 years since Mr. Punch first appeared London’s Covent Garden
11. Most Portrayed human literary Character In Film & TV – Sherlock Holmes
12. Longest line of fanfare trumpeters
13. Oldest continually working film studio – Ealing Studios
14. Most people throwing mortar boards simultaneously – celebrating international students in London
15. Longest club DJ session relay – 100 DJs at Ministry of Sound for London based Charity OneLife
16. Largest parade of boats – as part of the Thames Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant
17. Largest treasure hunt game celebrating The Mayor’s Team London Ambassadors
18. First underground railway system – Transport for London and London Underground
19. Largest composite photograph exhibition by artist Clare Newton
20. Oldest bicycle shop – established in 1860 in Sutton, London
21. Most people dipping egg soldiers simultaneously

In an uncharacteristically organised move, 295 students yesterday broke the Guinness World Record for the largest mortarboard toss. Held to highlight the international element of London’s universities, the event at More London by Tower Bridge saw students from all over the world replicate the traditional graduation celebration. 

This is the 14th world record to be set in London this year, meaning that the capital is a significant way towards its goal of beating more than 20 world records.

The Guinness World Record for the longest line of fanfare trumpeters was broken yesterday at Wellington Barracks, by a group of 91 trumpeters from seven different military units dressed in full ceremonial uniform.

The successful record attempt was organised by Victoria Business Improvement District to mark the run-up to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The event was part of World Record London, a challenge to break more than 20 world records in London this year.

Punch and Judy professors will gather at The Big Grin festival in Covent Garden this weekend to celebrate the 350th birthday of Mr Punch. The first sighting of Mr Punch was recorded by diarist Samuel Pepys in Covent Garden in 1662.

To mark the anniversary, London has been awarded a new Guinness World Record for the world’s first recorded Mr Punch puppet show. The award is part of World Record London, a series of world record attempts in London this year.

You can join the celebrations in Covent Garden over the weekend. On Saturday there’s a Big 350 Birthday Party with shows by top Punch and Judy performers from around the world, plus a birthday parade and a birthday cake ceremony in a giant booth.

On Sunday there’s a special edition of the traditional Punch and Judy May Fayre in the churchyard of St Paul’s Covent Garden (known as the Actors’ Church), including a procession and a church service with Mr Punch in the pulpit.

• The Big Grin, Covent Garden, 12-13 May 2012 

Update on 14 May: Here’s a great video of the celebrations!

From the fastest bride to the slowest snail, there are always lots of world records set at the Virgin London Marathon. This Sunday, 100 runners will attempt to set wacky records as part of World Record London, a series of world record attempts in London this year. The categories include:

• Fastest marathon hula hooping
• Fastest marathon carrying 20lb pack
• Fastest marathon run by a parent and child
• Fastest marathon in a two-person pantomime costume
• Fastest marathon by a linked team
• Fastest marathon wearing a gas mask
• Fastest marathon dressed as a cartoon character
• Fastest Marathon in a wedding dress
• Fastest marathon dressed as a vegetable
• Fastest marathon dribbling a football
• Fastest marathon in a fireman’s uniform
• Fastest marathon in a suit
• Fastest marathon running with an egg and spoon
• Fastest marathon on crutches
• Fastest marathon on stilts

Good luck to all the runners. We’ll be cheering from the sidelines!

Virgin London Marathon, Sunday 22 April 2012

London is hoping to crack the Guinness World Record for the world’s most expensive non-jewelled chocolate egg sold at auction as part of World Record London.

This 50-kilo egg was designed by William Curley for The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt, and will be auctioned this evening to raise money for Action for Children and Elephant Family.

Four artisan chocolatiers took three days to produce the luxurious egg at William Curley’s Twickenham production kitchen.

Trimmed with gold leaf, the masterpiece is filled with William Curley chocolates including muscovado caramel, Japanese black vinegar, and rosemary and olive oil.

We hope someone’s feeling generous this Easter! Look out for an update tomorrow on the price achieved at auction.

Update on 21 March: The egg sold last night at auction for a record-breaking £7,000.

Now our record-breaking team have demonstrated a bit of British etiquette in New York by breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest curtsey relay.

More than 50 people took part in the record-breaking curtsey at the London Hotel in New York last night. It took just five minutes to break the record.

Well done to everyone involved and we hope those newly-perfected curtseys come in handy for anyone visiting during the Diamond Jubilee in June!

Look out for more world records over the coming months.

Seven pairs of huggers gathered at St Pancras International station this morning to attempt to break the record for the world’s longest hug. The current record stands at 24 hours and 33 minutes.

Among them were Mayella Reynolds, founder of hugging group Random Huggers, and her sister-in-law, who she chose as a partner because she’s of similar height. “Guinness World Records contacted me on Boxing Day,” said Reynolds. “I said I’d be failing in my duty as a random hugger if I said no.”

Random Huggers has members worldwide, spanning Glasgow, Brighton, Madrid and Hong Kong as well as London. “We want this to go global!” said Reynolds.

Stand-up comedian Sanderson Jones was hugging friend Mikey. “Mikey and I hadn’t seen each other for a very long time,” explained Jones. “It was a good way to catch up.” He added that he would be “elated” to break the world record, although “there will be a lull, I expect, four hours before we finish”.

Lorna Tulett, star of BBC’s The Choir, was happily hugging her army officer husband Bryan.

In case you were wondering, the huggers are allowed a five-minute toilet break every hour. Good luck to all the couples!

The world record hug is the first in a series of unique record-breaking events taking place as part of the World Record London campaign

Next week we’ll be attempting to break the world record for the world’s longest hug! Our huggers will be embracing for more than 24 hours at St Pancras International station, in front of The Meeting Place statue.

The hunt’s now on for people to come along and keep the huggers entertained. Do you have a special talent that could keep them amused? Sign up here: www.worldrecordhug.com

See the world record hug attempt at St Pancras International from 8am on Thursday 19 January 2012