Mysuru: The sprawling 139.30-acre Mysore Race Course land at the foot of the iconic Chamundi Hill will now be the new venue for the Guinness Record attempt on International Yoga Day Celebrations on June 21.

The District Administration has decided to shift the location to Race Course as it has to be a single venue for the record attempt. The administration had earlier fixed the record-breaking attempt where more than 60,000 yoga enthusiasts were scheduled to perform at Mysore Palace premises, Hardinge Circle, D. Devaraja Urs Road, Maharaja’s College Grounds, Oval Grounds and surrounding areas. Now with the change in venue, the June 18 rehearsal will be held at the Race Course.

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, B.S. Prashanth, President of Mysore Travels Association said that initially they had applied for Multiple Venue Yoga Guinness Record feat. “We realised that such a record already exists and the available record is for a single venue. We thought the best venue in the city to accommodate such a large gathering will be the Race Course as it is in the heart of  the city,” he said.

In the Multiple Venue Yoga Guinness Record-breaking event last year on June 21 in Gujarat, over 86,000 yoga enthusiasts performed yoga for 45 minutes at multiple locations setting the world record.

This year, Mysuru will attempt to set a record of mass yoga performance at a single venue at the Race Course. Confirming this to Star of Mysore, Mysore Race Club Secretary K.G. Anantharaj Urs said that the Race Course will indeed host the June 21 mega event.

Addressing reporters at his office this morning, Deputy Commissioner D. Randeep said that the Race Course can accommodate 72,000 yoga enthusiasts. “We will use 71 acres of Race Course land on June 21 and the rehearsals will be held for the event on Sunday, June 18,” he said and added that the vast Race Course was chosen to avoid traffic snarls on that day.

“To break the Chain Link Yoga Record created in 2014 at Perumbudur in Tamil Nadu by Vidyashala School where 3,000 students participated, we have planned a mass Chain Link Yoga on June 19 at Mysore Palace premises and the rehearsal for this will be held on June 17 at 7 am,” the  DC said.

So far, over 15,000 people have registered for the Yoga Day performance. Special counters will be set up across the Race Course venue for on-the-spot registration.

“We have a budget of Rs. 45 lakh and the Guinness Record fee has cost us Rs. 10 lakh. To avoid traffic jams on June 21, we will have designated parking areas for yoga participants from where they will be ferried to the Race Course in KSRTC buses. We will identify the parking venues by today evening,” Randeep added.