New longest concert record is set

The concert continued despite an earthquake

A new world record for the longest non-stop concert has been set by hundreds of musicians in Japan.

The performance began on the evening of 23 March in the city of Omi, with musicians aged between six and 96 taking turns, local media said.

About 2,000 tunes were performed over 182 hours, with breaks of no more than five minutes between acts.

Organisers praised the musicians, one of whom carried on despite a major earthquake during her piano piece.

"This pianist was amazing. The whole place was shaking quite badly but she went right on playing," one of the organisers said. "Even an earthquake couldn't stop us."

An official from Guinness World Records was present to declare when the record had been set.

The previous world record was set in Canada in 2001 with 181 hours.