Latest news with #TheStarsandStripesForever
Asahi Shimbun
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Asahi Shimbun
Over 12,000 musicians break Guinness World Record at expo
OSAKA—Musicians from around the country played 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' while marching on the Grand Ring and other areas of the Osaka Kansai Expo to break a world record. The 12,269 participants at the May 11 spectacle earned the Guinness World Records' title of 'largest marching band,' surpassing the previous record set in 1997 of 11,157 people. The event was held as part of the Brass Expo 2025, a brass band festival sponsored by Kansai Suisogaku Renmei (Kansai band federation), The Asahi Shimbun Co. and Ad:Daisen Co. 'I am overwhelmed by a sense of fulfillment,' said Rio Nakamura, leader of the brass band club at Matsuyama Shinonome Junior and Senior High School in Ehime Prefecture. Thirty-three people from the school, including alumni and guardians, took part. 'This is the first time I played with so many people,' Nakamura said. 'I was thrilled even after the performance ended.' In addition to sheer numbers, the group had to meet Guinness World Records requirements that included 'marching 400 meters or more with all participants playing' and 'performing for five minutes or longer.' Daisuke Ataka, 42, joined with about 40 other members of a brass band based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. 'I became relaxed while playing, and I could afford to enjoy the sights of the expo that I was seeing for the first time,' said Ataka, an alto saxophonist. 'I was also glad to see children happily playing on percussion instruments.' Most of the assembled schools and amateur bands have participated in the All Japan Marching Contest.
Yomiuri Shimbun
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yomiuri Shimbun
2025 Expo Osaka: Guinness World Record Set for Largest Marching Band; Over 12,000 Marchers Join
The Yomiuri Shimbun Participants march while performing songs on the roof of the Grand Ring on Sunday in Konohana Ward, Osaka. A marching brass band consisting of 12,269 members was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the largest ever marching band on Sunday at the venue of the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo in Konohana ward, Osaka. The group, which mainly consisted of members from the Kansai region, performed 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' and other songs on the roof of Grand Ring, a wooden structure at the Expo. The performance, part of the 'Brass Expo 2025' brass band festival, was organized by the Kansai brass band federation and others. Performers from brass bands and other bands from about 300 schools, including elementary, junior high and high schools, wore colorful costumes and uniforms and marched clockwise for more than 10 minutes atop the Grand Ring, which has a circumference of 2 kilometers, producing a harmony of wind and percussion instruments. To be recognized as a Guinness World Record, the participants had to perform the song for more than five minutes and march more than 400 meters, and the conditions had to be confirmed by an official certifier. After being certified as world-record holders, the participants applauded and shared a moment of joy. The previous record was 11,157 members set at the Brass Expo in 1997.
