India’s skies come alive throughout the year with spectacular kite festivals, from the world-renowned gatherings in Ahmedabad to the vibrant celebrations in Hyderabad. But back in 2016, a new chapter in Indian kite-flying history was written in the city of Solapur.

Organized by the Rotary Club of Solapur, the Solapur International Kite Festival brought together global kite enthusiasts for an unforgettable event. Our team, Team FLY360, was honored to be invited to represent India.

While the skies were guaranteed to be filled with incredible professional displays, the organizers wanted something truly groundbreaking to stand out. They approached us for a fresh concept, and we proposed an ambitious idea: host a massive, synchronized kite-making workshop and aim for a world record.

The idea was an instant hit. The goal? To organize a modern kite-making workshop for more than 1,000 people in a single sitting!

Pre-Planning & The 30-Day Race Against Time

While Team FLY360 had successfully conducted workshops for 100 to 200 people in the past, scaling that up to over 1,000 participants was an entirely different beast. A gathering of this scale for kite-making had never been attempted in India or abroad.

With less than a month to prepare, we had to act fast:

  • Securing Record Officiators: We reached out to major record-keeping organizations. While Guinness World Records didn’t have open slots for our specific dates, we successfully secured official evaluation slots with the Limca Book of World Records and another renowned world record organization.

  • Assembling the Crew: We immediately mobilized our team, coordinated logistics, and began planning the logistics of teaching a massive crowd simultaneously.

Designing the Ultimate Kite-Making Kits

Our core philosophy for any workshop is simple: professional kite makers are only there to guide—the participant should be able to build their own working kite with total ease. To achieve this for over a thousand people, we needed safe, highly reliable materials.

We hired a dedicated team of 25 people just to manufacture 1,500 custom kite-making kits. A day before the event, we ran a thorough dry run to ensure everything was perfect.

Workshop Quick Facts

Element Specification
Target Participants 1,000+ local school students
Actual Attendance Close to 1,200 children
Kit Materials High-quality plastic, fiber rods, handy scissors, glue, and sketches
Total Kits Prepared 1,500 kits (including backups)
Workshop Duration 2 Hours

Day 1: When the Skies and the Ground Came Alive

When we arrived in Solapur, the energy was electric. The event kicked off with the organizers welcoming kite flyers from all across India and around the globe. After a quick networking breakfast, everyone headed to the massive festival grounds.

The wind conditions were perfect right from the start, and within minutes, the sky was filled with radiant, uniquely designed designer kites. While half of Team FLY360 joined the international flyers in the sky, the rest of our crew shifted focus to the main event: the record-breaking workshop.

The Mass Workshop Execution

At 8:30 AM, we were introduced to nearly 1,200 local school children eager to learn. To manage a crowd of this size smoothly, we deployed 100 professional kite artists and volunteers who divided the children into smaller, easy-to-manage cohorts.

A Golden Feather in Our Cap

Watching 1,200 children look up at the sky with beaming smiles as their own handmade creations caught the wind was an incredibly rewarding experience.

Following a rigorous on-site inspection, the world record judges and event organizers declared the workshop a resounding success. Team FLY360 was officially awarded the Limca Book of World Records certificate. To double our joy, the Rotary Club of Solapur honored us with a special monetary reward for executing the massive feat flawlessly.

The event wrapped up around 6:30 PM with a felicitation ceremony celebrating the international sponsors and kitists. The next day, we took a brief tour to enjoy the sights of Solapur before heading home with a lifetime of memories, deep gratitude, and a historic world record under our belt.