You can become a Guinness World Record holder by helping out London Zoo this month

(Image credit: London Zoo)

If you’ve ever leafed through the hefty Guinness Book of World Records and scoffed at a couple of the entries, thinking that given a stopwatch and an official adjudicator, you could probably attempt one too then now might be your moment.

London’s self proclaimed Wildest World Record attempt is officially taking place at London Zoo this May. Hearing the words ‘London Zoo’ and a ‘World Record’ you might think it’s some kind of animal-involved spectacle – humans dressed as animals, largest ever human/animal pyramid, plenty of options. However, the record they’re attempting to break is a little less of a health and safety nightmare and a little more wholesome. The zoo is attempting to secure the title for the most contributions to a painting by numbers in the world.

In tandem with its sister site Whipsnade Zoo, the largest ever collaborative paint by numbers attempt will feature 200 animals to celebrate the 200th anniversary of ZSL – the conservation charity behind London Zoo.

an image of one of the capybaras at London Zoo exploring a new environment

The painting must be completed between Saturday 23rd and Sunday 31st May 2026, and more than 14,000 individuals are needed to paint their own section.

Artists and animal lovers of all ages are welcome to help bring the gigantic art piece to life, and thanks to the paint-by-numbers approach, you don’t even need to have any raw artistic talent – it’s the training wheels equivalent of art.

After painting your way into history (a fun claim to be able to make) visitors can learn more about ZSL’s history which has helped protect and conserve wildlife at some of the earth’s most critical points, working around the world to restore habitats, protect species, and get new animal advocates all fired up.

Running across May half term, the Guinness World Record title attempt is included with standard Zoo entry, so you will need to book a ticket to join in, which you can do in advance via the website.

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Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.