Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Feb 24 (IANS) As more than 30,000 people Sunday raised their designer cups and took a sip of tea, Indore city of Madhya Pradesh set a new record for hosting the largest tea party. Citizens responded with enthusiasm to the novel event and started arriving at a stadium, the venue for the function, well ahead of the scheduled time of 3.30 p.m. and within an hour all seats were taken.

The stadium was divided into four sections and people were given entry only on the basis of their registration passes.

After singers Shreya Ghoshal and Krishna entertained the gathering with their melodious songs, the gates were closed at 4.30 p.m. and volunteers started serving tea to the guests in designer cups - which were later gifted to participants as mementos. Twenty minutes later, a new record was created.

At 6.30 p.m., a Guinness Book of World Record representative announced Indore to be the host of the biggest tea party with over 30,000 people sipping the Brook Bond Red Label tea, breaking the previous record of 14,718 people taking tea in Nishiao city of Japan in 2006.

The event, organised by the Hindi newspaper Dainik Bhaskar, also raised funds to the tune of Rs.50 million for city development.

Indore mayor Umashashi Sharma and Ramesh Chandra Agarwal of the Dainik Bhaskar group received a certificate for the record from the Guinness Book representative amid an impressive show of fireworks and festivities.