In an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of Smurfs, the German town Dä Traditionsverein asked citizens to dress as Smurfs on Feb. 16.
This event was first created by Belgium fans back in 1958. The old Guinness World Record is currently held by participants in Wales, consisting of 2,510 participants back in 2009.
So, how many people showed up at the Dä Traditionsverein event? The official Record Institute for Germany claims that 2,762 people donned blue skin and hats in celebration of the show.
This beats the previous record by more than 200 people, but it still fell short of their goal of 3,000 participants. Regardless, this event still brought thousands of people together to revel in a tradition of more than 60 years strong and rectified the town’s previously failed attempt back in 2016.
Just as 30% of public schools have uniform guidelines for students, the event asked participants to only dress as two easily identifiable characters: Smurfette and Papa Smurf. These two were chosen primarily because of their unique features among the rest of the Smurfs. With Smurfette’s classic blonde hair and Papa Smurf’s beard and red hat, it makes it easy to count the number of participants walking into the event.
Those showing any normal skin beneath their blue appearance weren’t counted in the final tallies. Whether that means people used makeup, body paint, or just wore blue clothing, coatings were essential at the event. After all, coatings typically provide two main functions: decoration, such as in this event, or protection.
Though some reports claim that normal Smurfs were okay too, as a Smurf-only event, Gargamel was strictly off limits.
Participants were even given certificates of participation by the Record Institute for Germany.
There’s no word on whether or not Dä Traditionsverein has officially become the world record holder, but there’s little doubt that the town won, especially in the eyes of the participants. Guinness officials are expected to approve the record in the next few weeks.
Reports claim that French partner cities even participated, with more than 100 Smurfs travelling to Dä Traditionsverein for the event.
The beloved cartoon is worth around $8 billion and has been translated into more than 30 languages across the globe.
