Lord Mayor Graham Quirk is encouraging Brisbane stargazers to gravitate to Roma Street Parkland on Wednesday 23 May to help eclipse a Guinness World Record. Hosted by science guru Dr Karl Kruszelnicki and children’s entertainer Jimmy Giggle, the free all ages community event will be the headquarters for a national attempt for the most people stargazing across multiple sites at the same time.

“This is a unique opportunity for Brisbane residents to come together at one of our city’s favourite parklands and join in the fun of a Guinness World Record attempt,” Cr Quirk said. “As the headquarters for the attempt, we’re hoping to fill Celebration Lawn in Roma Street Parkland with at least 5000 people, all looking to the stars at the same time. Residents can pack a picnic to enjoy under the stars or choose from the delectable delights of onsite food trucks while learning about astronomy, something that Brisbane has a historical link to. Our city was named after the astronomer Sir Thomas Brisbane, and we’ll be celebrating the iconic Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium’s 40th anniversary this May.”

To break the current record, at least 7961 people across more than 37 locations will need to simultaneously gaze into the night sky through a telescope for 10 minutes. The record attempt is being run by the ABC in partnership with the Australian National University and with the support of Brisbane Marketing, which hopes to have over 30,000 participants at “star parties” across Australia. The event will be broadcast on the ABC in Australia and in Asia as part of the three-part series, Stargazing Live.

Prof Cox will cross to the Roma Street Parkland site to check in with the citizen astronomers and the Guinness Book of World Records attempt. Event host Dr Karl Kruszelnicki said that on 23 May, Australians have the chance to become record breaking astronomers when we all look up as one. Brisbane residents can also get involved in the lead-up to Stargazing Live through an ABC competition calling for photographs of the night sky from people’s homes. The Stargazing Live world record attempt will be held at Celebration Lawn in Roma Street Parkland on Wednesday 23 May from 7pm to 10pm.

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