
From Friday 27 February to Sunday 1 March, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and proposed by Toastmasters International, a 90 years old organization committed to improve the communication and leadership skills, it was presented a record attempt validated by Guinness World Records for the longest marathon giving speeches, in the framework of the celebrations of Guadalajara anniversary.
This project was joined enthusiast
ically by Mar Adentro de Mexico, a civil organizati
on from Guadalajar
a focused on promoting the culture of debate amongst the Mexican youth.
The proposal was also backed by the Culture Commission
of Guadalajar
a Town Hall and approved by the plenary. Toastmaste
rs and Mar Adentro contacted Guinness World Records with their idea with unlimited number of participan
ts could be created.
The minimum requiremen
t set from Guinness World Records was a 24 hours event, however the organizers
wanted to set a more difficult mark, and from the first moment they aimed to surpass the 72 hours goal.
The rules for this record establishe
d from Guinness World Records state that every speech should last at least 5 minutes and only pauses of 30 seconds as a maximum between speeches are acceptable
.
A total of 458 speakers: Toastmaste
rs from Guadalajar
a and coming from other Mexican states, university
students belonging to Mar Adentro and citizens in general participat
ed in the attempt. And due to the fact that the event took place in a public place, el Parque de la Revolucion
, the event generated a huge interest for public in attendance
.
On 27 March one of the participan
ts was the Major of Guadalajar
a himself.
From Saturday, Guinness World Records Adjudicato
r Carlos Martinez was present in Guadalajar
a so he could confirm, right after the conclusion
of the event, that a new record had been set, with an official time of 72 hours, 45 minutes and 57 seconds.