Alexandria’s iftar event breaks world record despite the mayhem

An event that saw chairs, tables and food flung along Alexandria’s corniche still managed to break the Guinness World Record for the longest line of tables, representatives from the international group announced in a press conference on Friday night.

The 4,303-meter-long iftar (fast-breaking) table broke the record on Friday, beating Italy’s previous two-kilometer record in July 2014, representative of the Guinness World Record Sida Shibaysi announced.

Scuffles broke out among attendees of the event, who smashed chairs and tables and threw them at each other. Several testimonies and videos posted on Facebook showed crowds gathered around the cars that were distributing meals, causing organizers to panic and throw meal boxes haphazardly at people.

The event was organized by a group of young people by the name of “Radioactive,” in coordination with the governorate of Alexandria. 

According to Omar Ashraf, one of the organizers of the event, problems started when more people showed up than had been accounted for.

Those who sought to attend the event were asked to register online and bring their designated numbers and ID cards with them. However, according to Ashraf, scores of unregistered people turned up claiming it was an open invitation.

“We had prepared a number of meals in accordance with the number of people who registered to attend,” Ashraf told Mada Masr. “It was well organized.”

He said that 6000 people were registered and accounted for, but estimates that around 15,000 turned up.

He explained that they wouldn’t open the gates and were waiting for the Guinness representatives to show up, but people pushed and shoved and jumped over the gates, claiming seats at tables.

“We were 900 organizers, how could we manage 15,000 people?” he asked.

Ashraf said there were 8000 meals available, as organizers had planned to make 1000 available for those invited through NGOs and for the poor. He said the purpose wasn’t for it to be a charity event, or a “Rahman table,” but was rather about promoting Alexandria and breaking the Guinness record. He explained that organizers had announced beforehand that whoever wants to attend and did not register should come with their own meals.

Mayhem ensued as cars started distributing meals and people attacked them, he recounted.

“It’s a problem of culture,” he stated, although he added that ultimately they achieved their goal and won the world record title for Alexandria. 

In November last year, Egypt broke the world record for the largest plate of koshary, weighing 8 tons, followed by a record-breaking 4-ton ful platter in March in Cairo.