Over 2,000 dancers in Dublin, Ireland, helped to set a new Guinness World Record, after they each performed the Riverdance in a line.
This congregation of performers gathered on Sunday near the banks of the River Liffey to dance. They came from 163 dance schools in 44 countries, with some even coming from as far as Mexico, Uzbekistan, and Japan to partake in the celebration.
The “Riverdancers” were looking to beat the previous record which saw 652 people perform the dance that was made famous by Michael Flatley in Nashville, Tennessee. That world record event was organized by Jig: The Irish Dancing Documentary and took part at Opryland Hotel on July 3, 2011.
New Yorker, Jean Butler, who starred in the first ever Riverdance show in 1994 alongside Mr Flatley, lead the Dublin contingents effort to eclipse this total.
Ms Butler told the throng of journalists who had gathered to witness the attempt, “I am delighted to have had the opportunity to celebrate The Gathering through Irish dance with thousands of people over the course of this weekend.”
She then added, “Riverdance has played a big role in my life but it has also played a big part in bringing the joy of Irish dance and music to many people throughout the world.”
The Gathering that Ms Butler referred to in her statement is a campaign that is designed to entice tourists to Ireland, especially those who have an ancestral link to the country.
This new world record for the longest ever Riverdance line, didn’t come close to toppling the record for the longest single line of dancers. That honor belongs to the 2,569 participants who performed the “Hokey Pokey” dance in Poughkeepsie, New York, as part of Walkway Over The Hudson.
Over the weekend, 729 nude swimmers set a new world record for skinny dipping in Vera, Spain too.