Mauritius sets World Record for ‘largest human image of a waving national flag’

Mauritius has set a unique Guinness World Record by gathering thousands of participants, mostly school children, for the “largest human image of a waving national flag”.

The 6,145 school children, civil servants completed the massive Mauritian flag on the lawn of the Anjalay Stadium in Belle-Vue on Tuesday 24 January.

“I am so honoured and so thrilled that we have been able to achieve something like this,” Arts and Culture Minister Avinash Teeluck told reporters.

At some point, organisers of the event were expecting some 7,800 participants – but the 6,145 who turned up despite the persistent rain were enough for the feat.

Mauritius successfully took the challenge to break an August 2022 record set by the Chandigarh University in India which had 5,885 participants.

The certificate for the world record was presented to Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth by Pravin Patel, Adjudicator at Guinness World Records.

The unique feat, which kicks off a series of activities to mark 55 years of Mauritius’ independence, nonetheless received mixed reactions on social media.

While many described it as a solemn patriotic moment, others claimed the country is facing numerous challenges – including the drought – and children should have been at school, amongst others.