ORLANDO BREAKS GUINNESS WORLD RECORD
PEOPLE TRAVEL FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO CREATE WORLDS LARGEST SMILEY FACE
UNPRECEDENTED ATTEMPT CELEBRATES OFFICIAL
WORLD SMILE DAY;
Raises Money for Smile Surgeries for Children with Cleft Lips, Palates
ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct. 1, 2010) Five hundred smiling people from around the world gathered today in the worlds theme park capital to set the Guinness World Record for the biggest smiley face. Coinciding with and celebrating todays official World Smile Day®, they formed the smiley face and stood shoulder to shoulder for ten minutes on the top parking deck of the new Amway Center mega arena, home to the NBAs Orlando Magic.
At 50 feet in diameter, the worlds largest smiley face was nearly the size of a basketball court. Amongst the participants dressed in yellow and black ponchos, were travelers from across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and Brazil.
True to the saying, Smile and the whole world smiles with you, the Orlando Convention & Visitors Bureau (Orlando CVB) spent half a year searching the globe for people who had special smile stories to share as part of their World Smile Search campaign. More than 20,000 smile stories from 77 countries were collected at VisitOrlando.com/smile (http://www.VisitOrlando.com/smile) and the people behind some of those stories were flown in for the world record event.
With our world-famous theme parks and more than 100 attractions, we thought we might just be the smile capital of the world. Now, its official, explained Gary Sain, president and CEO of the Orlando CVB. We have a world record and world travelers from the four corners of the globe told us that no other destination creates unique smile moments and memories like Orlando for families and friends to share for a lifetime.
During the campaign, the Orlando CVB also raised $19,825 for the charitable organization, Smile Train. The donations will be used to provide more than 70 cleft lip or cleft palate surgeries for children so that they can smile. Some of the children who have benefited from Smile Trains work joined the smile ambassadors from all over the world at the record-breaking event.
Download smiley face photos at the following links:
Orlando Skyline: http://www.box.net/shared/34m00rd98z (http://www.box.net/shared/34m00rd98z)
Aerial & Amway rooftop: http://www.box.net/shared/konbz4xvzt (http://www.box.net/shared/konbz4xvzt)
Aerial & Amway sign: http://www.box.net/shared/z3p1abep16 (http://www.box.net/shared/z3p1abep16)
Aerial close up: http://www.box.net/shared/n1xqdc02x6 (http://www.box.net/shared/n1xqdc02x6)
Photo caption for smiley face photos:
Say Cheese Five hundred smiling people from across the globe gathered in Orlando to celebrate World Smile Day by setting a new Guinness World Record for the world’s largest smiley face. Organized by the Orlando Convention & Visitors Bureau as part of their “Orlando Makes Me Smile” campaign, the smiley face was nearly as wide as a basketball court at 50 feet in diameter. Participants from across the U.S, the U.K., Canada, Brazil and Germany donned yellow or black ponchos and stood shoulder to shoulder for 10 minutes in front of Orlando’s new multi-million Amway Center to out-smile the previous record holder. Photo/Orlando CVB, Kevin Kolczynski
Download Joey and Melissa photos at the following links:
Joey & Melissa in smile: http://www.box.net/shared/9p6hc8ksrs (http://www.box.net/shared/9p6hc8ksrs)
Joey & Melissa on air: http://www.box.net/shared/2oe6z7zanm (http://www.box.net/shared/2oe6z7zanm)
Photo caption for Melissa Rycroft and Joey Fatone photos:
Say Cheese Celebrities Melissa Rycroft, host of ABC’s Bachelor Pad and Joey Fatone, formerly of N’SYNC, joined 500 smiling faces in front of the new Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. to break the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest smiley face during a celebration of World Smile Day organized by the Orlando Convention & Visitors Bureau. The record breaking smile measured 50 feet in diameter, nearly as wide as a basketball court. Photo/Orlando CVB, Ed Hall