Twenty-two thousand, one hundred and forty-one people in tight plastic caps, white shirts and aviator sunglasses stood baking in 32C heat in Hyde Park on Friday afternoon – and they could not have been happier. They had just broken the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people wearing bald caps, a homage to the rapper Pitbull, the night’s headliner at the BST festival.
The record attempt was the brainchild of content creator Jack Remmington and BBC Radio 1 Breakfast presenter Greg James. Remmington had posted a “tongue-in-cheek” TikTok video last year suggesting that the 65,000-person capacity of BST was “easily enough to break the world record of people cosplaying as Pitbull”. The video went viral, and James helped get the rapper on board. Pitbull, real name Armando Christian Perez, replied with “Dale!” – Spanish for “hit it” and the title of one of his songs.
“22,141 Pitbull fans in bald caps set Guinness World Record at BST Hyde Park show.”
On the day, 69,999 concertgoers descended on the London park, but only those wearing a bald cap could be counted. Guinness World Records adjudicator Will Munford explained that because the record was not for the “largest gathering of bald people”, even Pitbull himself, who is bald, had to wear a cap to be included. To ensure accuracy, 400 volunteers checked people at entrances and onsite, while drone footage with 42 counters monitored the crowd backstage.
“I’m speechless. Who would have thought a first-generation Cuban would be record-breaking and record-making?” said Pitbull, accepting the award in an all-black suit. He thanked his fans, “the baldies”, and called the achievement a “blessing” and an “honour”. “I say it to the Bald-es all the time in the shows, when y’all put on them bald caps you know you’re about to have the time of your life and now you’re officially in the Guinness Book of World Records,” he told the crowd.
Fans who had scrambled to find caps – some visiting three fancy dress shops that were sold out – said they felt “sweaty and bald” but “amazing”. One fan described Pitbull as “an inspiration” who brings “such good vibes”. The 45-year-old star, born in Miami to Cuban parents, performed a host of hits after the record was confirmed. The idea for the record did not come from Pitbull, BST or Guinness – it started with a single fan’s joke. Now it is official.
