Oops, what's going on? Thousands of Smurfs hit German city

Landerneau (France) - An entire town in blue: thousands of Smurfs were out and about on the streets of a municipality in French Brittany at the weekend. But what was it all about?

Landerneau was blue and white at the weekend: thousands of Smurfs romped through the streets.
Landerneau was blue and white at the weekend: thousands of Smurfs romped through the streets.  © FRED TANNEAU / AFP

The small town of Landerneau has just over 16,000 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2022) - almost a fifth of them dressed up as Smurfs, Smurfettes or Papa Smurfs on Saturday.

Whether young or old - together, the 3076 Smurfs made it into the Guinness Book of Records for their town, according to the municipality on its website. The title: the largest number of people dressed up as Smurfs.

"On this Saturday, May 17, the streets of the city were literally flooded with a blue tide, and there was a festive, joyful and intergenerational atmosphere," according to the city.

They also beat the record set by the town of Lauchringen in the Waldshut district of Baden-Württemberg . It had held the record with 2762 Smurfs since 2019, but now had to admit defeat to the French.

They have finally broken the record set in Germany - a reason to celebrate.
They have finally broken the record set in Germany - a reason to celebrate.  © FRED TANNEAU / AFP

Mayor of Landerneau also on the road as a Smurf

World record broken on the third attempt - anticipation for new Smurfs movie

Many of the participants really pulled out all the stops to pass as Smurfs.
Many of the participants really pulled out all the stops to pass as Smurfs.  © FRED TANNEAU / AFP

However, this was only successful on the third attempt, having been tried twice before but failed each time. Until now.

The event in the French municipality was organized by the association "Pays de Landerneau-Daoulas Animations" and "Paramount Pictures France".

The Smurfs were once created by Pierre Culliford (†64) under his pseudonym Peyo. "The Smurfs: The Big Movie" will be released in July - a great opportunity to celebrate, according to those responsible.

The mayor of the small town, Patrick Leclerc, also took the opportunity to parade through the streets of Landerneau dressed all in blue and wearing a white cap. He had also issued another call for participation on his Facebook channel in the run-up to the event.