Upgrade Estate brought people together breaking the record for the most couples eating a single piece of spaghetti simultaneously in Ghent, Belgium, on 13 May 2022.
The housing association creates and manages buildings for students, young professionals and mature growth businesses with a strong focus on connecting people.
Early on in their business endeavours, the co-CEOs Nele and Koenraad of Upgrade Estate used to host spaghetti nights in their first building.
Together with stakeholders, they wanted to renew this tradition after the pandemic, with the goal of reconnecting.
Eating a shared piece of spaghetti as a pair, before the pasta breaks or leads the two participants lips to meet, is known as an ‘Italian Kiss’.
The gesture is most recognizable in Disney’s film Lady and the Tramp.
The record attempt was held at Flanders Expo, the second biggest venue in Belgium, and stakeholders from Upgrade Estate gathered together for the first time since the pandemic.
The venue was decorated with lights and dinner tables to give it a romantic look, perfect for recreating this famous gesture.
Before entry, a counting system was put in place to count the people who participated in the record attempt.
For the attempt to be valid, the spaghetti couldn’t break between two participants (meaning they had to kiss) and the single piece would have to be consumed by both within 30 seconds.
Spaghetti is an important connector for Upgrade Estate, from the start, the co-CEOs and the tenants of their student buildings connected with each other during famous ‘spaghetti nights’.
Allowing the tenants to make friends in a light-hearted way and develop a network for life.
So, it was important that once 'in-person events' were allowed again, to have their stakeholders experience this special form of connection.
After the start signal from the Guinness World Records adjudicator, all participants placed the piece of spaghetti in their mouths and began eating at the same time.
The record attempt was successful with 433, beating the previous record set in Paris with 125 pairs.
Spaghetti has always been the common thread running through everything we do. At Upgrade Estate, it’s all about bringing people together and connecting them. Upgrade Estate
The event featured music by Gabriel Rios, who also took part in the record attempt.
After the record was verified, the Guinness World Records certificate was awarded to the CEO’s of Upgrade Estate.
As the record guidelines stipulate that food cannot be wasted, the leftover spaghetti was given to the participants.
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