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It seems there really is a Guinness World Record for everything – these divers have come together to break the record for ‘largest underwater mermaid show’. More than 100 mermaids (and mermen) took to the Ambassador Lagoon inside China’s Atlantis Sanya resort for the successful record attempt, which was part of celebrations to mark the resort’s third anniversary.
Mermaid diving is a rising trend, and it’s particularly popular in China. The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), which organised the event at Atlantis Sanya, recently launched four new mermaid diving courses – Discover Mermaid, Basic Mermaid, Mermaid and Advanced Mermaid – which are in high demand in China. “Within four short months after the official launch, mermaid courses now account for 30 per cent of local certificates in China,” says PADI’s Greater China president Yan Lou.
Like free divers, mermaid divers don’t wear a tank under the water. Of the 110 women and men who took part in the record attempt, 90 per cent of them were PADI mermaid instructors. Dozens of professional safety divers were also on hand during the challenge, which involved months of rigorous underwater training and rehearsals in order to carry out the choreographed underwater performance. The Lagoon where the underwater stunts took place is usually home to around 86,000 marine creatures from more than 280 species. The size of five Olympic swimming pools, it is one of the largest open-air aquariums in the world.