A Guinness World Record for the largest haka was officially set at Auckland’s Eden Park during the All Blacks vs Wallabies Bledisloe Cup round 2 match, with over 6500 participants recorded.
Thousands of Kiwis and tourists flocked to the Mount Eden stadium in a bid to break the previous record held by the French since 2014.
The attempt was led in by a performance by Kiwi band Six60 and Guinness World Record adjudicator Brian Sobel confirms that the official count was 6531.
New Zealand haka organisers were hoping at least 10,000 participants would turn up for the attempt.
The haka was required to last for one minute, so the crowd performed Ka Mate four times.
How awesome is this?
— Nick (@StrayDogNZ) September 29, 2024
Thousands of people have just performed a haka at Auckland's Eden Park in an attempt to reclaim the Guinness World Record.
The current official record is 4028, inexplicably held by France since 2014 pic.twitter.com/TOCZANASZp
The record attempt was supported by former All Blacks captain Wayne “Buck” Shelford, who is credited with reviving Ka Mate, when the decision was made to perform it at home in time for the first Rugby World Cup in 1987.
The “nation-building occasion” is part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust, co-founded by Dame Hinewehi and named after her daughter Hineraukatauri.
Funds raised will enable the trust to continue delivering life-changing music therapy.
Source: NZ Herald
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