The Unlimited, a Durban-based financial services provider, is set to make history for the Southern Hemisphere this weekend when it takes on the Guinness World Record for building the most sandcastles in one hour.
More than 800 people, made up of The Unlimited’s employees, their families and friends will join in the fun on the Durban’s Bay of Plenty on Saturday, 15 March where they will attempt to build 2 400 sandcastles in just 60 minutes. This will smash the current record of 2 230 sandcastles, set by the German town of St. Peter-Ording on 13 July, 2013.
Not only is this a first for South Africa, this will also be the first time this world record has ever been attempted in the Southern Hemisphere!
According to Steph Bester, CEO of The Unlimited, this world record attempt was a natural fit for the company. “We believe that ordinary people can achieve the extraordinary and what could be more exceptional than giving all our people an opportunity to break a world record!” Bester explains.
This will not be the first time that The Unlimited is helping to write a new world record. The company already has an extensive track record for providing amazing experiences. It brought athletics golden girl Zola Budd back to South Africa to compete in the Comrades Marathon, sponsored two kitesurfers in their successful quest to be the first people to kitesurf from Ponta do Oura in Mozambique to Durban and also helped a Pietermaritzburg youth to be the youngest black person to walk to the South Pole.
“We are really proud of the people we have helped and the records they have achieved and we wanted to do the same for our own people as they are the heart of our business. So when we decided to put together a day for our people where they could also bring their families and friends, we decided to create memories rather than just an event – something that would be a real challenge for everyone and great fun at the same time. Our challenge has been met with great excitement and we can’t wait to have a crack at playing our way into the history books,” says Bester.
The Unlimited King of the Castles’ fun kicks off with a practise session at 08h30 before the sand starts flying for the real deal at 09h00. After an hour of frantic sandcastle construction, the Guinness representative will start the adjudication process before the announcement is made just after 11h00. Members of the public are invited to come down to the beach front to show their support for this amazing attempt.
Guinness World Records has been recognising record attempts since 1955 and the annual Guinness Book of World Records remains the best-selling copyrighted title of all times. The book has sold over 130-million copies and has been translated in 25 different languages.
