Sok Sabayna, director of the Executive Secretariat of Angkor Sangkran, said Cambodia plans to break two world records during the upcoming Angkor Sangkran 2023, but he has not yet confirmed in detail what the records will be.
Sabayna made the announcement at a December 20 press conference on preparations for the 10th anniversary of Angkor Sangkran. It will be held with the theme of “Dreams and Hopes”.
“We plan to break two more world records, but I do not want to specify what the records will be. I will provide details at a later date,” he said.
He said that in 2015, through the Angkor Sangkran event, Cambodia broke two records. A giant num ansom – a traditional sticky rice cake – weighing 4,040kg was created by the Cambodian Chefs Association. The second record was broken by 2,015 dancers, who performed the world’s largest Madison dance.
Sabayna added that the upcoming event will be bigger, more creative and more beautiful. The event has been expanded from the 11 major programmes of previous years to 34.
The popular displays of oversized items that were displayed in previous years would also return, including a giant chess set, a huge chapei dong veng and the face of Hanuman.
At the press conference, Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia (UYFC) president Hun Many said the two targeted records would require a lot of participants.
He cited the giant num ansom as an example, saying it had been completely dependent on the Cambodian Chefs Association. The two new records would require the participation of far more ordinary people.
“To break these records, we will need a lot of people to get involved. We will spread the news of how to become a part of this future source of national pride soon,” he said.
He said next year’s theme, “Dreams and Hopes”, had been chosen to connect the dreams of every Cambodian with the confident hopes of peace, national pride, progress and prosperity, along with the resilience of the Cambodian nation and its noble and elegant civilisation.
He added that the theme is associated with the concept of 3Cs, which is the concept of a future Cambodia with competent human resources, pride in being Khmer, and virtue. This topic evokes the dream of the group of young people who wanted to organise a great event in front of Angkor Wat during the Khmer New year.
Many said that 10 years ago, a group of young people had the idea of organising an event in the Angkor Archaeological Park which was uniquely Khmer in both image and content.
The young dreamers achieved this through hard work and their commitment to the cause of national pride, he added.
“Angkor Sangkran is not just a festive occasion, but a celebration of Khmer New Year, the Khmer culture and the spirit of love the great Khmer family has spread to the world,” he said.
According to Many, the working team is confident that Cambodians everywhere will contribute to making the event a success that moulds the national spirit. It will draw more national and international tourists to Angkor, and will demonstrate the Kingdom’s hospitality ahead of the 32nd SEA Games and the 12th ASEAN Para Games 2023.
