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Bulgarian Bagpipers Break Record In Bunch, Bounce While Blowing

A group of devoted musicians crowded a stage in Sofia, Bulgaria last night, blowing bagpipes and hoping to set a new mark. When all assembled, Reuters reports 333 Bulgarian bagpipers performed, setting a Guinness Book World Record for the greatest number of bagpipers ever to play together at once.

Many performers were children in traditional dress, bobbing and swaying to the music.

Bagpipes.co.uk says don't be surprised at the location: "Bagpipes, while associated greatly with Scotland, are found across Europe and in many parts of the world and have been for a great many years."

The concert was paired with a lecture delivered by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the International Art of Living, which helped sponsor the event, notes the Sofia News Agency. The foundation has helped set other group efforts, says the Guinness Book, including the largest group of hand drummers to play together (1230 people), the largest buffet ever served (5,612 different dishes) and the biggest choir to ever perform together (121,440 singers).

The Bulgarian musicians performed on bagpipes known as kaba-gaidas and kicked off their concert with a traditional Bulgarian folk song; Reuters notes the music was included on a golden disk launched into outer space with the one of the Voyager space crafts in 1977.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Korva Coleman is a newscaster for NPR.

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