Thanks Jimi Festival – World Guitar Record “Hey Joe”

Each year, on May 1st, thousands of guitarists from all over the world come to Wroclaw’s Market Square to set a new Guitar World Record playing together. Join the biggest guitar orchestra in the world! Play with us on the 1st of May!

The annual guitar festival is most of all an occasion for collective play, meetings and exchange of experience, and during this event, an attempt to break the Guinness record is made.

It was Leszek Cichonski’s idea to try to break the Guitar Guinness Record when in 1997 he found himself on stage with 17 other guitarists playing “Hey Joe” during the “Blues Express” workshop. The idea for such an undertaking had been developing for several years, until it was finally accepted as worthwhile. It originated in the desire to make something very big and it was the first and most important step to finally breaking the world record!

On 10th of May 2003, “Hey Joe” was played by 588 guitarists in unison! Each year the numbers were successively rising: the year 2004 – 916 guitarists, in 2005 we crossed the magic one thousand barrier with quite a frank margin. Exactly 1201 guitarists played at that time. Later was more and more…

In 2019, the year before pandemic, is was 7 423 guitarists playing together in Wroclaw!

In 2020, the Guitar Record was held entirely online. As many as 7,998 guitarists from all over the world gathered to play “Hey Joe” from their homes, gardens and balconies. The participants submitted over 5,000 photos and videos, and the concert broadcast attracted a total of over 110 thousand viewers, from Poland to Spain,  UK and the United States… – music has no borders!

In 2022, the 20th edition of one of the largest guitar music festivals took place on May 1st at Wroclaw’s Market Square.

In 2023 is was 7967 guitarists playing together in Wroclaw!

GUITAR WORLD RECORD – Play with us!

On May 1, we meet at the Wrocław Market Square to make an attempt of a new Guitar World Record.

After 20 years of playing, the Wrocław event has become a music festival presenting various faces of the guitar, as well as an incentive for Wrocław musicians and tourists from around the world.

Today, we invite you to participate in this May 1 guitar festival and the performances of the greatest Guitar Orchestra in the World.