Organisers of an event in which almost 7 000 couples kissed simultaneously in a Bosnian town on Saturday said their effort deserved a place in the Guinness World Records book.
A total of 6 980 couples kissed for 10 seconds at the main square of the north-eastern town of Tuzla, about 120km north of Sarajevo, said local radio station Kameleon, which organised the event.
”Tuzla is the city of love. We are the champions,” Kristina Gligorovic, an organiser, told the crowd of about 20 000 people that had gathered for the occasion.
Muslim clerics in Tuzla called for a boycott of the event, arguing it was not in line with Muslim tradition. Muslims account for 44% of Bosnia’s 3,8-million population, the last 1991 census showed.
Tuzla mayor Jasmin Imamovic took part in the event with his wife.
”People are longing for love. The time has come that, besides the Philippines and Hungary, someone from south-eastern Europe breaks the kissing record,” he said before the event.
The Philippines and Hungary are known for their rivalry for the kissing crown.
The Asian country set the Guinness world record in February 2004 with 5 327 couples, but were overtaken by Hungary with 5 875 couples in 2005.
The Philippines came back in February this year, with 6 124 couples in Manila to regain the record — but Hungary responded again in June, when it produced 6 613 smooching couples.
In August, Hungary claimed the new record with 7 451 kissing couples, but according to Bosnian organisers, it was not officially certified as the world record.
Apart from Bosnia, couples from neighbouring Croatia and Serbia as well as Albania, Macedonia and Slovenia also took part in the event.
The organisers said they would submit the footage of the event and couples’ registration forms to the Guinness World Records body to certify it officially. — Sapa-AFP