Romania sets Guinness record with miles-long table, raises funds for pediatric psychiatry hospital

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Tens of thousands of people gathered in Romania ’s capital Saturday to sit down at a miles-long table to break a Guinness record and raise money for what organizers said will be the country's first pediatric psychiatry hospital.

The 5,055-meter (3.1-mile) “Uniting Table” was sprawled along Unirii Boulevard to Constitution Square in front of Bucharest’s massive communist-era Palace of Parliament. The Romania-based organizers Bloom The World Association were awarded a certificate by Guinness World Records for the “longest table made from recycled materials.”

The event brought together a reported 20,000 people at the many tables, many of which were decorated with flowers and snacks.

Joanne Brent, a senior adjudicator and official onscreen judge for Guinness World Records, who joined the Bucharest event, said on stage that it proved that the record-breaking achievement had been put to good use.

“Everyone, 20,000 people I am told are here today, have come around one table and a common cause,” she said. “I get to see this often, people coming together, record-breaking achievements with real-world impact.”

Money raised from the event will go toward a 3,900-square-meter children’s psychiatric facility within the Obregia Hospital complex in Bucharest. It is being funded by private donations and sponsorships and will cost an estimated 16.5 million euros, according to the Metropolis Foundation, which is behind the construction project.

“It is a project that started from a real need,” the foundation states on its website. “The current section at Obregia Hospital operates in an old, overcrowded space, which no longer meets the medical and emotional needs of children. ... It means the chance to bring closer to reality a hospital that will benefit over 5,700 children facing severe mental illnesses annually."

The foundation says the number of children diagnosed with serious mental disorders, such as depression, behavioral disorders, substance use, autism and ADHD, has “increased alarmingly” in Romania, from 3,839 in 2018 to more than 5,600 in 2024.

The hospital's current pediatric psychiatry clinic has 62 beds, but wards with many beds that lack their own bathrooms, according to the foundation. It also states that the old facility's lack of space can make private discussions with patients and their families challenging.

The new five-level building will host medical offices, occupational therapy and virtual reality rooms, sensory and educational spaces, dedicated relaxation spaces, as well as a section dedicated to treating addiction among adolescents.

"We clearly want as many people as possible to donate (toward) the first psychiatric hospital for children,” said Alexa Vilcan of Bloom the World.

The previous Guinness record for the longest table made from recycled materials was also held by Bloom the World, measuring 2,782 meters in Romania's central town of Alba Iulia, and was recorded on the same date last year.

In 2023, Romania had one of the lowest healthcare budgets in the European Union relative to GDP at 5.7%, compared to a bloc average of about 10%, according to the EU’s statistics office, Eurostat.

Romania’s Minister of Health Alexandru Rogobete has pledged to support the initiative by supplying the “equipment and furniture necessary” to equip the medical facility, construction for which is scheduled to be completed by 2027.

McGrath reported from Leamington Spa, England.