Over 1.2 million Christmas lights in a 3-D setup spread over 41000 square feet! To see this Christmas extravaganza, you have to be in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. For those of you who can not make it there, have a look at the video:
The man behind the feat is David Richards, a Canberra resident who is fondly known as the ‘crazy Christmas guy’ by the residents. In 2013, David and his family decorated their home with around 50,000 Christmas lights. He entered into Guinness book of world record for setting up the biggest display with Christmas lights. Hundreds of people flocked to his house to catch a glimpse of the stunning light work. David was able to raise decent money for charity. There was only one problem – a major traffic fiasco in front of his house. So this year, the officials of Canberra, invited David to decorate city’s popular Petrie Plaza.
David started planning the project nine months ahead of Christmas. A 22 tonne steel structure was built to support the lighting. In this gargantuan task, David was assisted by an army of volunteers, many of whom were engineers, designers, electricians and architects. Not even a single person involved in the Christmas project charged money for many hours of work they dedicated to it. Canberra officials saved approximately $900,000 as helpers worked for free.
In fact, the lights display will raise funds for a local charity which is involved in children well being, a cause that is very close to David’s heart. Now that is what we call Christmas spirit!!
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