7411 guitars played "Hey Joe" beating the Guiness Record again! :)
What is it about?
Since 2003 Wroclaw(aka Wroclove) is hosting this amazing event. Rules are simple - all guitarists have to register and come to Wroclaw/Poland on 1st of May and play "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix. According to go.wroclaw.pl all you need to do to join the Guinness Guitar World Record is have a guitar and be familiar with five basic chords C/G/D/A/E to play "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix (source: https://www.wroclaw.pl/go/events/music/34913-guinness-guitar-world-record).
The event usually starts early morning (10am) and finishes somewhere in the afternoon. Record beating lasts for around 5-10 minutes, the rest is just pure music from great artists.
Idea behind
According to heyjoye.pl Leszek Cichonski got this idea after he and 17 other guitarists played "Hey Joe" during the "Blues Express" in 1997 (source: http://en.heyjoe.pl/component/content/article/29-what-is-the-guitar-guinness-record.html).
Beating the Guinness record was not the only purpose of the event. It also meant to gather guitarists and fans of Jimi Hendrix together in nice place so they can share their passion to music.
Event History
According to heyjoe.pl the numbers of guitars playing were as follows:
2003 - 588
2004 - 916
2005 - 1201
2006 - 1581
2007 - 1881
2008 - 1951
2009 - 6346
2010 - 4597
2011 - 5601
2012 - 7273
2013 - 5744
2014 - 7344
2015 - 5003
2016 - 7356
2017 - 6299
2018 - 7411
More
Some more things that might convince you to visit the event next year:
1st of May is also a Labor Day - there are some workers manifestations here and there which will make you feel like in the good old times;)
2nd of May is the Polish Flag Day - all country is covered in white&red
3rd of May is the Polish Constitution Day(always a big event)
May is a warm time in Poland, feel free to enjoy some % or make a barbecue. People are off from work and willing to socialize, so no worries even if you come alone.
