Cyprus women break world bra chain record

Women in Cyprus made the longest bra chain in the world Sunday, collecting 114,000 pieces that stretched 95 kilometres long to raise funds for breast cancer awareness.

The organisers of the event gathered the lengths of bras that were assembled into a long chain displayed around the harbour of Paphos, the tourist resort on the south west of the island.

They will now wait for official endorsement of the result in order to be included in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The initiative by the Paphos Cancer Patients Support Group includes efforts by Cypriots, Britons, Dutch and other supporters, while bras have also been flown in from as far apart as the US and Canada.

Even the national carrier, Cyprus Airways, joined the effort by delivering some 8,000 bras from Cypriots living in the UK on Thursday, helping to exceed by far the previous record set in Singapore with 79,000 bras.

All the collected items will be handed to the International Red Cross to be sent to disadvantaged women in poor countries around the world, while money raised during the campaign that started a year ago will be used to improve medical services for the treatment and support of breast cancer patients in Cyprus.