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HUNDREDS of women bared virtually all in the cold and rain to raise money and awareness for charity at the weekend – but they failed to set a Guinness world record for the largest massed bikini photo shoot.
Although more than 900 women showed up at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium on Saturday to participate in the Nashua Largest Ever Bikini Photo Shoot in aid of the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa), they fell far short of the target to break the record.
Event organisers had hoped to get more than 1923 participants in order to better the record set in Russia in 2008, at Riviera Central Beach in Sochi.
Women who attended the event in Russia, broke the previous record of 1010 women in Sydney in 2007 at Bondi Beach.
Nelson Mandela Bay’s Pam Regnart was one of many women who expressed their disappointment with people who registered for the event and paid their R50 donation fee, but did not show up due to the cold and overcast weather.
Those taking part on Saturday nonetheless showed that their hearts were in the right place, not only by attending the event but by forming a giant heart on the field of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
In the process, the 905 participants broke two other world records for the largest bikini and swimwear parades.
For many women the event was a deeply personal cause.
Venita Jacobs stood out in the crowd because she completed the Cansa walk on crutches.
“My sister-in-law’s niece, who is 11 years old, has just been diagnosed with leukaemia. We did the mile for Jade.”
Event organiser Laurence Finn, of Club 100 for Ladies, said organisers were pleased that participants managed to smash the two other world records.
The previous record for a bikini parade was 331 participants, while the swimwear parade featured 385 women.
All proceeds raised will benefit Cansa.
2010 world records video for the largest bikini photo shoot and swimwear parades 2010 - South Africa, Port Elizabeth at the Nelson Mandela Bay 2010 World Cup Stadium on 23 October 2010.
