UAE flag made out of buses sets new world record

In celebration of National Day, the Department of Transport set a world record for forming the largest 'bus mosaic' with 156 painted buses forming the UAE flag.

156 buses were used to create the UAE flag - setting a new world record.  Courtesy Department of Transport
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ABU DHABI // In celebration of National Day, the Department of Transport (DoT) set a world record for forming the largest “bus mosaic” on Tuesday.

The DoT gathered 156 of its buses and divided them into the four colours of the UAE flag, with 39 buses representing each colour.

The department’s workers took two weeks to prepare and paint all the buses, which were stationed in Shahama parking yard, about 45km away from the city.

Saeed Al Hameli, adviser to the executive director of surface transport sector and chairman of events committee at the DoT, said the department set the record to increase awareness of the role and importance of public transport.

The record has been verified by Guinness World Record, which handed a certificate to the department.

“This is a new category,” said Samer Khallouf, project manager for the Middle East and North Africa at Guinness World Records.

“We set the minimum requirement to accomplish the record, which was 150 buses. They managed to successfully have 156 buses to form the UAE national flag,” Mr Khallouf said.

The team inspected the number of buses and the paint on them and then used an aerial image to see if the flag was recognisable, he said.

According to the DoT, the completed flag was 36.6 metres long and 145.3 metres wide. Under Guinness World Records’ conditions, the minimum requirement for the number of buses was set at 150 for the first-of-its kind attempt.

anwar@thenational.ae