If you have ever had the lofty ambition to break a Guinness World Record, your opportunity may have just arrived.
The record regulators are hosting a 10-week event at Dubai's Wafi Mall, Guinness World Record Live will be the first event of its kind in the region.
Shoppers and visitors will have the chance to train to break records throughout the 10 weeks, and will be given the opportunity to make official attempts to break records on Fridays and Saturdays in the presence of official Guinness World Record adjudicators.
The event is running at Wafi Mall from Friday, September 13 until Saturday, November 23.
Each week, there will be new sets of records to break, and although Guinness World Records will not officially reveal which records will be breakable, they have hinted that they will include "buzz wire records, wall target records, gaming records, bicycle kick records, robotic records and football records", among many.
“Everybody can be a record-holder ... we invite everyone to train throughout the week, and then head over to the exhibition’s interactive challenge area between 3pm and 9pm during weekends, where Official Adjudicators from GWR will be present to verify the visitors' attempts,” Katherine Revett from Wafi Mall says of the event.
Past Guinness World Records on show
There will also be a gallery showcasing the achievements of past record breakers, across 11 different categories. The museum-style exhibition will include information about, and images of, records from space, the human body, the animal kingdom and the 21st century, as well as showcasing local talents and achievements.
One of the record breaking stories included in the gallery is that of Ram Singh Chauhan from India, the owner of the world's longest moustache, which is 4.29 metres long. He achieved the title in 2010.
“Growing a moustache is like taking care of a baby,” explained Singh Chauhan, who started growing his record-breaking moustache in 1970. “You really need to nurture it. I use various herbal oils to maintain the health of my moustache, [but] I only wash [it] once every two weeks.”
You may recognise Singh Chauhan from his silver screen cameo in James Bond movie Octopussy in 1983.
Also included in the exhibition is Tameru Zegeye's story. Zegeye can run the fastest 100 metres while hand-standing on crutches: he does it in just 57 seconds.
Of his skill, Zegeye who was born with physical challenges, said, “I am unique, this is my unique talent … Everything is possible.”
The records are not limited to those broken by individuals. The largest rideable hexapod is also included in the collection, which is almost three metres tall and five metres wide.
Record breaking in the UAE
The Emirates is known for its record breaking. Dubai has the tallest building in the world in the Burj Khalifa, Abu Dhabi offers the world's fastest roller coaster at Ferrari World, while in Ras Al Khaimah you will find the Jebel Jais Flight, the world's longest zip wire.
There have also been many an off-beat record broken in the UAE. At 4.25 kilograms, the world’s largest kidney was removed by a Dubai surgeon in 2016, the most pull-ups by a woman (3,737) were achieved by Eva Clarke at Abu Dhabi's Al Wahda Mall in 2016 and the record for pulling the heaviest aircraft by a production car was broken by a Nissan Patrol in Sharjah in 2013.