Do you know that one thing Dubai is most famous for? Well, it definitely has to be breaking world records. The world’s tallest, largest, fastest, craziest- Dubai has it all and we can’t be prouder. But, that’s not it! The city recently added yet another feather to its cap after five thousand people from 58 nationalities carried a 2,020-metre UAE flag. This feels pretty special, isn’t it?
What’s It?
Just after the UAE National Day, the country broke two Guinness World Records. The first record was broken by five thousand people across 58 nationalities. People from all over the world came together to carry a 2,020-metre UAE flag at Dubai Police Academy. The second one was for the maximum number of nationalities that came forward to carry the flag.
The flag that was carried is said to be the heaviest till date, weighing 1,200-kg. Besides, it took 208 hours and a period of 25 days to stitch the flag. The event was to mark UAE National Day, the Year of Tolerance as well as a beginning to Dubai’s hosting of Expo 2020 next year.
Earlier in February, Kuwait made it to the Guinness book for the world’s longest flag, measuring 2,019-metres.
What Else?
Meanwhile, in an effort to help privileged kids, the expatriate women in Dubai joined hands to complete a massive task. The world’s largest blanket was knitted right here in Dubai and was on display at Sports City. The ‘Knitathon’ project started last April aimed at making huge blankets that could be used by kids across the world.
The initiative slowly gained momentum and even before they realised, they were on their way to breaking a Guinness Record. The blanket measures 3,949 square metres , double the size of the one made last year. Apart from its astounding size, that covered the whole stadium, visitors were also wowed by the vibrant colours used to stitch up the blanket.
Over 500 people from 27 nationalities were involved in the mammoth task which took 18 months. And finally, the team managed to bag the world record for the largest knitted blanket in non-crochet category and the world’s largest display of knitted hearts.
The blanket had 5,200 tiny hearts stitched up to create a mega, record-breaking heart on the blanket. Once the procedures for the world record are done, the blanket will be dismantled and distributed to orphanages and refugee camps across the world, just in time for winter.
Women who formed the knitting committee- Jyothi Kapoor, Dr Nishi Singh, Anuradha Ananth, Mamta Saxena, Manju Ansari, Dipika Kalra and Avani Shah — said in a statement: “The Knitathon was started as project to keep children warm worldwide and attempt two Guinness records. It has since evolved into a journey of creativity, empowerment and the knitting together of people not only of different nationalities but of different genders and age groups.”