More than 12,000 musicians from around Japan play “The Stars and Stripes Forever” on the Grand Ring and elsewhere at the Osaka Kansai Expo on May 11. (Video taken by Takuya Tanabe and Takayo Oyama)

Photo/Illutration Musicians march on the Grand Ring at the Osaka Kansai Expo to set a Guinness World Record for the largest marching band on May 11. (Yoshinori Mizuno)

OSAKA—Musicians from around the country played “The Stars and Stripes Forever” while marching on the Grand Ring and other areas of the Osaka Kansai Expo to break a world record.

The 12,269 participants at the May 11 spectacle earned the Guinness World Records’ title of “largest marching band,” surpassing the previous record set in 1997 of 11,157 people. 

The event was held as part of the Brass Expo 2025, a brass band festival sponsored by Kansai Suisogaku Renmei (Kansai band federation), The Asahi Shimbun Co. and Ad:Daisen Co.

“I am overwhelmed by a sense of fulfillment,” said Rio Nakamura, leader of the brass band club at Matsuyama Shinonome Junior and Senior High School in Ehime Prefecture.

Thirty-three people from the school, including alumni and guardians, took part.

“This is the first time I played with so many people,” Nakamura said. “I was thrilled even after the performance ended.” 

In addition to sheer numbers, the group had to meet Guinness World Records requirements that included “marching 400 meters or more with all participants playing” and “performing for five minutes or longer.” 

Daisuke Ataka, 42, joined with about 40 other members of a brass band based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture.

“I became relaxed while playing, and I could afford to enjoy the sights of the expo that I was seeing for the first time,” said Ataka, an alto saxophonist. “I was also glad to see children happily playing on percussion instruments.” 

Most of the assembled schools and amateur bands have participated in the All Japan Marching Contest.

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