Wanted: Guinness World Records judge for the UAE

The popularity of setting world records in the UAE has prompted the company to search for a local judge

India International School in Sharjah got 5,500 students together to create a coffee pot. Courtesy Guinness World Records

The world's largest fresh flower carpet was achieved in Dubai this year. Leslie Pableo / The National

The Dubai Frame was named the largest building in a shape of a picture frame on May 9, 2019.

Ras Al Khaimah Police achieved a record for the largest police badge in the UAE earlier this year. Courtesy Guinness World Records

The largest hand-woven spiral placemat was made by the Cultural Programs and Heritage Festival Committee (UAE) in Abu Dhabi. Photo Guinness World Records

The world's most expensive perfume, Shumukh

The most people in a photo cutout board picturewas achieved by Sharjah Child Friendly Office on November 21, 2019. Courtesy Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records wants to recruit a judge in the UAE to cope with the growing demand for feats to be assessed in the region.

There were 82 world records set in the country last year.

“There has been a real upturn in interest in the Mena region and the UAE in particular,” said Alan Pixsley, head of global production delivery for Guinness World Records.

“We desperately need more people to adjudicate for us in the UAE.”

The country has many Guinness World Records under its belt, including the world's tallest building – Burj Khalifa.

The UAE also holds the record for the most palm trees planted in one country between 1999 and 2009. During that period the country planted 42 million palm trees, Mr Pixsley said.

While many of the UAE records are elaborate and grand, some are more niche.

In 2018, a world record was set for the largest transforming human image when 5,445 people formed a coffee pot filling a cup at India International School, Sharjah.

A year earlier, a construction site in Dubai set a world record for the largest continuous concrete pour in the world when 21,580 cubic metres was used for a residential commercial building in Jebel Ali, state news agency Wam reported.

Last month, Dubai set a record for the most diamonds set in a toilet bowl – a feat unlikely to be challenged any time soon – after revealing a Dh4.7 million gold toilet at The Amazing Museum & Art Gallery.

There are 15 full-time employees in the Guinness World Record's Mena office, but demand in the region is so high the company often drafts in adjudicators from the UK.

“We need people in the UAE but we also really need someone with local knowledge who is living there,” Mr Pixsley said.

Being a Guinness Word Record adjudicator is a job like no other, Mr Pixsley said.

“It’s great fun and every day is different from the last.

You get to meet new people each day with great passion and dedication who are testing themselves to the limits of their abilities," he said.

The successful applicant will have to ensure the company's strict guidelines are upheld before any request is taken seriously, he said.

“They need to be able to measure record attempts that could be repeated anywhere in the world,” he said.

“Anyone can apply with a new idea or an attempt to break an existing record.”

He said the job would require the successful candidate to think outside the box, particularly when it came to adjudicating world record attempts in mid-air or under water.

"You won't be expected to have to jump out of a plane but you will often have to work with independent specialists who can record and verify record attempts," he said.

The UAE's top 10 Guinness World Records

1. World's tallest building — The Burj Khalifa took six years to build in Dubai and stands at 829.8 metres.
2. World's biggest picture frame — The Dubai Frame is 150 metres high and cost an estimated Dh320 million to build.
3. World's highest restaurant from ground level — At.mosphere can be found on the 123rd floor of the Burj Khalifa. It is 442 metres above the ground.
4. World's tallest hotel — The Gevora Hotel, which can be found in Dubai, is 356 metres high and took the title from another Dubai hotel, the JW Marriott Marquis by just a single metre.
5. World's largest umbrella or parasol — This record was set in Abu Dhabi in 2018 when an umbrella with a diameter of 24.5m was created.
6. World's largest standing lantern — This record was set in 2018 in the Souq Al Jubail in Sharjah. The lantern which stands at 13.09 metres was created especially to mark Ramadan.
7. World's longest zip line — This was set in Ras Al Khaimah with the creation of the Jebel Jais Flight which has an unbroken span of 2,831.88 metres.
8. World's largest cup of hot tea — This was on display in Dubai's Global Village in 2018. It was 3.66 metres high and had a recorded temperature of 85 degrees Celsius.
9. World's longest line of horses — This record was set by Dubai Police and Meydan who had 116 horses in a line during 2017.
10. World's largest human image of a waving flag — The UAE flag was recreated by 4,130 people in 2017 by Gems Education in Abu Dhabi.