Ghanaian journalist hugs tree for over 24 hours, sets Guinness World Record

Abdul Hakim Awal, a Ghanaian journalist, has broken the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest time to hug a tree.

His unique “tree-hug-a-thon,” which took place outside Kumasi Cultural Centre, lasted 24 hours and 21 minutes.

This surpasses the previous record set by Ugandan environmental activist Faith Ariokot, making his achievement truly exceptional.

This year, Mr Awal is the second Ghanaian to set a tree-hugging world record. He follows in the footsteps of forestry student Abubakar Tahiru, an activist, who set a record for the most trees hugged in one hour after hugging 1,123 trees, averaging almost 19 per minute in April.

The world record body announced Mr Awal’s feat on its website on Tuesday. Mr Awal took on this challenge to highlight the importance of nature conservation in Ghana. He pledged to plant a new tree for every minute his record attempt lasted, finishing at a total of 1,461.

They said: ‘‘Abdul was not permitted any breaks during his record attempt – he had to remain standing and keep his arms wrapped around the tree throughout the entire duration. Though we have been taught about the preservation of trees since the early years of our lives, the contribution of everyone is not as significant as it should be. This attempt for the longest time to hug a tree spells out an important task to preserve human life by preserving trees.”

Modifications

GWR says that now that the record stands at 24 hours – the point at which record attempts are considered ‘marathons’ – the title has been modified to longest marathon hugging a tree, opening up new possibilities for future challengers.

‘‘This means that future challengers will be permitted breaks (a total of two hours per day) to combat the harmful effects of sleep deprivation,’’ they added.

Mr Awal, who has witnessed the consequences of desertification in his family’s hometown of Garu, now hopes to establish a nationwide tree-planting initiative.

He said: “We know how trees, an essential resource the entire human race depends on, are becoming scarce in Ghana.”

Since Hilda Baci, a Nigerian, officially broke the GWR for the longest cooking marathon (individual), with a time of 93 hours 11 minutes, in 2023, Africans have continued to attempt varying records, with some going ahead to break existing records.

“Hilda’s record attempt took the world of social media by storm, with millions in Nigeria and beyond following her progress via an Instagram live stream.

“Hilda’s cook-a-thon was, in fact, so popular that our website crashed for two days due to the immense volume of traffic we received from her legion of loyal fans,” the organisation said.

GWR is the global authority on all things record-breaking, with offices in the UK, US, China, Japan, and UAE, as well as official adjudicators who verify records all over the world.