The French town of Landerno today broke the world record for gathering Smurfs, after two unsuccessful attempts in the past five years.
According to organizers, 3.076 people gathered today in costumes of Smurfs, Smurfettes, or Papa Smurf.
The song "La, la, la, la, la" in praise of the famous blue elves with white hats by Belgian comic artist Pejo echoed throughout the day in the shops and streets of the Breton town with about 16.000 inhabitants, where costumed and made-up men and women gathered.
A student from another town, who was playing music at the gathering, said she had come to help the town, so she came herself wearing a Smurf costume.
The mayor of Landerneau, Patrick Leclerc, also dressed as a cheerful comic book character, was also at the gathering. Among the attendees was Simone Pronot, an 82-year-old Smurfette.
"A friend suggested we come. And why not," she said on the terrace of a cafe with a mug of beer in her hand.
"This brings people joy and fun because they enter an imaginary world for a few hours," said one of the organizers of the gathering.
Until now, the small German town of Lauhringen, on the border with Switzerland, held the world record for the largest Smurf gathering, with 2.762 participants, gathered on February 16, 2019.
Landerno broke this record on March 7, 2020, by gathering 3.549 Smurfs. However, Guinness World Records did not confirm the feat due to a lack of documentation of authenticity, according to the organizers.
The gathering was then repeated in March 2023, but the attempt failed again, this time due to bad weather, which caused 231 Smurfs to not show up for the gathering.
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