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A Where's Wally record attempt
A number of Where's Wally lookalikes will descend in Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth is hoping to enter the Guinness Book of Records for the number of Where's Wally lookalikes in a single place on Saturday, 24 October, 2009.
Looking to beat the record of 1,052 Wallys in New York, event organisers hope it will boost the town's economy.
"It's a wacky plan, but we want 1,200 Wallys standing in Yarmouth," said Jonathan Newman from the Great Yarmouth Town Centre Partnership (GYTCP).
Wally kits can be ordered online for the 3pm event on the Market Place.
"We've ordered and had delivered a number of costumes: long-sleeved red and white striped T-shirts, the woolly hat and some black-rimmed spectacles," said Jonathan.
Many groups and schools in Great Yarmouth are going to take part in the record-breaking attempt.
"A lot of people are quite tickled by the idea, so it'll be a boost for the town and a boost for the shops, but we also hope to get a bit of attention for the town," said Jonathan.
"Hopefully people won't laugh too loudly when we have a town full of Wallys here," he added.
Inspiration
WHERE'S WALLY FACT FILE:
Where's Wally? (or Where's Waldo? in the United States and Canada) is a series of children's books by British illustrator Martin Handford
The books consist of a series of full-page illustrations of hundreds of people during a frenzy of activity in a certain time period or in a unique location
The intent is for the reader is to find a character named Wally hidden in the group
Wally is always dressed in a red and white striped shirt, blue pants, glasses and bobble hat and he carries a wooden walking stick
The first book in the series was published in 1987 and Wally has since appeared in a TV series, comic strip and computer games
The inspiration for the idea came from a member of the GYTCP who saw pictures of the New York record attempt while in the city.
As well as having thousands of living Where's Wallys in Great Yarmouth, a giant Wally drawn by pupils at St Nicholas Priory Middle School can already be seen on top of Market Gates Shopping Centre.
"I'm hoping that the next time they update Google Earth everyone will be able to see the drawing - it's fantastic and very amusing," said Jonathan.
Hoping that the event will pay for itself with the money gained from costumes, Great Yarmouth's Boots the Chemist has stepped in to cover any cost in staging the record attempt.
This means the GYTCP can donate £1 for every person taking part to Breast Cancer Care as the event falls during the disease's awareness month.
Risk
Jonathan is confident from the number of Wally costumes sold so far that the record will be broken.
"It is the riskiest thing we've ever done - if no-one turns up there will be only one Wally afterwards and that will be me," he said.
"However, it makes a change and we want to promote Great Yarmouth as a fun place, which it most certainly is.
"People should come along because they will be a world record breaker and not everyone can say they are one of those!"
The Where's Wally lookalike record attempt takes place at 3pm on Saturday, 24 October, 2009, at Great Yarmouth Market Place.
People can order their Wally Kits for £5 in advance on the Great Yarmouth Town Centre Partnership website for collection from Books Inside in the Market Gates Shopping Centre.
