Trinidadian Joshua Regrello on December 28, 2024, set the Guinness World Record for the longest steelpan-playing marathon after an entertaining 31 hours on the country’s national instrument.
The 27-year-old the set 30-hour mark around 12:30 p.m. but continued for another hour as thousands of viewers tuned in and encouraged him on YouTube and Facebook.
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“This is not just a victory for myself, it’s a victory for everybody who was a part of this – from planning to being here,” Regrello said in a brief comment to friends, family, ministers, and other officials gathered in the studio of WACK 90.1FM in San Fernando where he created history.
He thanked teams from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, Fire Service, and timekeepers from the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation who witnessed the process for Guinness World Record verification. The organizations sent individuals to do four-hour shifts.
Though admittedly and understandably tired, Regrello made a point to single out those individuals whose presence he had only requested on Christmas Eve.
“I want to pay special notice to these witnesses…. These are really objective people who had to endure hours of pan,” he said. “The one thing we need to make this validated by Guinness is independent witnesses. We have to submit evidence, but we could not do that without them witnessing and sending evidence. So big shout to all the witnesses and the organizations for sending you all on short notice.”
Regrello, who recently became the first person to perform steelpan on the Great Wall of China, began his Guinness World Record mission around 6:30 a.m. on Friday, starting off playing Josh Groban’s You Raise Me Up.
Throughout the 31 hours, several artists joined him, including singers and other instrumentalists.
He was allowed to take a five-minute break for every hour of continuous playing but he only took a half-hour break, at times playing with one hand to drink or get a quick bite.
At the end of his record-breaking performance, Regrello asked the studio audience to stand and played Trinidad and Tobago’s national anthem. CMC
