Thailand hosts largest ever bicycle parade to celebrate Queen’s birthday.
An impressive display of pedal power in Thailand at the weekend saw a new record set for Most people participating in bicycle parades simultaneously (multiple venues).
In celebration of Queen Sirikit’s 83rd birthday, bicycle parades were held in 76 locations all over the country on Sunday.
An incredible 136,411 people were verified as taking part in the event, which was organised by the Thai government.
Huge assemblies of cyclists nationwide donned blue jerseys (in the Buddhist tradition blue represents Friday, the day Sirikit was born) that had “Bike for Mom” printed on the back – the occasion is also Mother’s Day in Thailand.
Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn led the Bangkok group, followed by other public figures including Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and his cabinet, on a 43 km (27 mile) ride through the capital.
A mobile phone application was created for the event so that coordinating locations and counting participants would be simple and accurate.
Unfortunately, the Bangkok leg of the attempt was disqualified as most of the cyclists did not pass the check point to get their barcode scanned.
In spite of this setback, Thailand nevertheless went on to absolutely smash the previous record of 72,919 participants which was achieved by Taiwan back in 2011.
The high-profile event was broadcast live on many public television stations with Prime Minister Chan-ocha declaring the parade an “historic event for Thailand”.
