The record for the largest pinata in the world was broken in Philadelphia yesterday. But the pinata itself, to the dismay of the hundreds gathered for the event, stayed intact.
A large crowd formed at Washington Avenue and South Broad Street yesterday afternoon to see the breaking of a six-story pinata filled with 8,000 pounds of candy, but many left disappointed after safety concerns caused the breaking to be postponed.
"In the interest of public safety, the Philadelphia Police Department requested that we postpone breaking open the pinata due to unexpectedly large turnout for the event," said Carnival Cruise director John Heald.
Carnival Cruise Lines sponsored the event, which included music, food and cruise giveaways to celebrate the Guinness World Record-breaking pinata.
Carnival's pinata was about 61 feet tall, 60 feet long, and 23 feet wide. It broke the record previously held by a 48-foot-tall pinata Microsoft sponsored in Mexico City in 2006.
An adjudicator from Guinness World Records inspected the Carnival pinata and confirmed that it had broken the record.
"We wanted to give Philadelphians an opportunity to experience the Carnival culture of fun by being a part of a new world record and having the chance to win a free Carnival cruise," Heald said.
Though Philadelphians came out for a day of fun, some were upset when the breaking did not occur.
"I feel hurt, disappointed and cold," said Philadelphia resident Kenny Harrison, who attended with friends and family and said he waited two hours for the pinata to break.
The first attendees got a chance to appear in a Carnival commercial that was going to be shot on sight with the pinata.
Some began gathering as early as 10:30 a.m.
The event began at noon, and the pinata was supposed to be destroyed by a wrecking ball at 1:30 p.m.
There were early reports of technical difficulties, but people continued to wait in hopes that everything would go as planned.
Eventually, however, officials announced that the breaking would not be happening, and people were asked to leave.
Most spectators left by 3 p.m., many booing and expressing dissatisfaction as they left.
Heald apologized for the postponement, citing police concerns that the breaking would cause a surge of running to grab the pinata's contents.
He added that Carnival would give out T-shirts and candy, and attendees would still have an opportunity to appear in the commercial.
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