How the Guinness World Record 'Thon' craze held Ghana by the neck

GhanaWeb Feature by Isaac Dadzie

In May 2023, Hilda Baci, a 27-year-old chef from Nigeria, broke the world record for the longest cooking marathon by cooking for 93 hours and 11 minutes, surpassing the previous 87 hours and 45 minutes set by Indian chef Lata Tondon.

Her attempt was met with widespread support from Nigerians, who trended her name on social media from May 11 to May 15.

Numerous public figures, including the Governor of Lagos State and various celebrities, visited the venue to show their support.

After Guinness World Records confirmed her achievement, their post received over 50,000 comments, marking the highest engagement on their page.

Although Irish chef Alan Fisher later broke her record, Hilda has continued to excel in her field.

But this story is not about Hilda, it's about how her achievement sparked a frenzy which saw many Africans (especially Ghanaians) attempt to break various records.

Seven months later in Ghana, a young lady, Afua Asantewaa announced her attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest singing marathon, previously set by Sunil Waghmare at 105 hours.

She began her journey at midnight on December 24, 2023, and ended on the morning of December 29, 2023, after she sang continuously for 126 hours and 52 minutes at the Akwaaba village.

Her attempt was met with widespread support from numerous Ghanaians, including A-list musicians and politicians.

The event, which trended on social media with the hashtag #AfuaAsantewaaSingathon, made the 2023 Christmas season in Ghana particularly memorable.

Although her attempt was unsuccessful, Afua still came out as a winner, securing numerous brand deals and sponsorships as well as being granted a chieftaincy title.

Another widely publicised attempt closely followed Afua’s attempt.

Chef Failatu Abdul-Razak, popularly known as Chef Faila, a renowned Ghanaian chef also made headlines for her extraordinary cooking marathon.

She cooked non-stop for an impressive 227 hours, surpassing the previous record held by Irish chef Alan Fisher.

Her attempt took place in Tamale, Ghana, and garnered widespread support from politicians, celebrities, and the general public.

Her attempt, sadly was unsuccessful but she nevertheless came out as a winner, Chef Faila was met with various titles, and sponsorships and even got to represent Ghana on an international stage.

But then, things took a funny turn, Ghanaians started seeing more and more ‘unconventional’ attempts - from Speech-a-thons to Chewing-gum-a-thons to Paint-a-thons to Read-a-thons to many others.

Some Ghanaians got tired of the 'Thons', brands stopped sponsoring, the media stopped covering and people stopped trooping to watch attempters.

A cursory glance at the various other attempts showed that they weren't even being taken seriously by the attempters.

The breaking point came in July 2024, when another cook-a-thon attempter, Chef Smith made a botched attempt to crown himself with a GWR plaque.

His deceit was quickly discovered and the truth dropped, his attempt was all fake!

But there were still some diamonds to be found in the mud.

After his attempt, the Guinness World Records recognised One-year-old Ace-Liam as the youngest male artist.

Another Ghanaian, Chelsea-Abigail Owusu Ansah, a hairdresser, made history by setting a new Guinness World Record for the Most Hair Locked in a Single Session.

Additionally, at the time of the publication of this piece, another kady, Felicity Asantewaa finally received her official certificate from the World Records body for the most cars washed by an individual in 8 hours.

It's not up to a year after the first attempt in December 2023, but after the fanfare, the publicity, the fun and games, the tears, the deceit and the anger, it could be safe to say that the craze has finally died down.

Say what you will about the ‘Thon’ craze of 2024. What you can’t deny is… they were fun times.

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