On Monday, May 15, 2023, Nigerian chef Hilda Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci broke the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking time by an individual.
The 27-year-old Akwa-Ibom chef cooked for a straight 100 hours non-stop to surpass the previous record set by an Indian chef, Lata Tondon in 2019, who cooked for 87 hours, 45 minutes, and 00 secs.
Already Guinness World Records has acknowledged Hilda Bassey’s feat in a tweet but maintained that their team would review it to make a formal pronouncement.
“Our records team is looking forward to reviewing the evidence from Hilda’s epic cooking marathon.”
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Since Hilda Baci broke the record, we’ve seen hundreds of people asking: Does a record breaker receive a financial award from Guinness World Records? To set the record straight, it is exactly the opposite.
As such, record breakers do not receive any form of financial compensation from Guinness World Records Limited, the company that publishes incredible records.
It is the world’s independent authority on record-breaking achievement, their role is to verify, document world records, and recognize record breakers in its publication across its platforms.
Its maiden publication was released in 1955 called “The Guinness Book of World Records”. Since then, it has been a global brand and money-making organization.
“As such we never pay record breakers for their achievements or for making a record attempt. Nor do we cover expenses, offer sponsorship or provide equipment for anyone attempting a record,” it says.
So, you may be asking:
What are the benefits of breaking Guinness World Records?
While the publisher of the Guinness Book of World Records will not hand over to you a cheque in dollars, pounds, or euros, the company does issue an official certificate of recognition for the feat, if they are able to independently verify the record breaker’s claim
The Guinness Certificate of Achievement is free. It includes the purpose the certificate was issued and in which year.
Another benefit of being on the Guinness Book of World Records is that the holders become famous for their skills and could get multi-million dollar endorsements from global brands.
As for Hilda Baci, brands are already on her doors persuading her with juicy offers and partnerships, that’s one of the rewards for setting or breaking Guinness World Records.
Application for Guinness World Records Isn’t Free For Fast Track Process
Contrary to the misconception that record breakers receive monetary awards from Guinness World Records, applicants who want to break or set a new one will have to pay for an accelerated application process.
Apart from the application fee for a quick application and verification, expenses in the course of setting a new record are not incurred by the Guinness World Records.
Here is how the application process works:
You can submit an application to break a record or set a new one in your skill, however, you may wait for 90 days or more for your application to be acknowledged.
That isn’t all, you will have to wait for another 90 days if you succeed. Spo, most times, applicants who have sponsors prefer to seek sponsors to bear the application and review fees.
The accelerated application takes less than five working days, but the priority application costs £500 or $800 US or €630 to surpass an existing record.
To set a record or title in a new field, the priority application costs $1,000 US or £650 or €820.
According to the company, it is a worthwhile investment to get your application reviewed ahead of the rest.
Making the aforementioned doesn’t stop there. If review of the record may take another 90 days, but if you want Priority Evidence Review and get an answer within 5 working days, you’ll need to make another payment for Priority Evidence Review after your attempt, as it explains on its page.
This means that your application could receive almost immediate attention if you are ready to even pay more by getting a dedicated account manager.
If you request a dedicated account manager who will help you in the application process, the price will be revealed on request.
How does Guinness World Records make money?
The UK-based Guinness World Records Limited is a money-making organization. They generate revenue from sales of priority products for application and review and other paid services available on their website.
Summary
As for Hilda Baci who just broke the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking by an individual (100 hours), she isn’t going to receive any financial compensation from Guinness World Records Limited, but a certificate of recognition when they are able to review all evidence before confirming the record.
we're aware of this amazing record attempt, we need to review all the evidence first before officially confirming a record 💫 https://t.co/loGnAY8yKE
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) May 15, 2023
Applicants who want to set a fresh record in a new skill or surpass an existing record pay for an accelerated application process or to get a dedicated account manager.
