Nutbush: Mundi Mundi Bash’s world record attempt falls short

Queenslanders can rest easy as they fell short of 364 festival-goers on Saturday after Broken Hill’s attempt to break the world record for the largest Nutbush City Limits dance.

The Birdsville Big Red Bash set a current world record of 4084 dancers in July this year.

But it wasn’t enough to dilute the spirit of the 3,720 wildly dressed revelers that lined the vast desert plain for Tina Turner’s 1973 classic.

More than half of the many festival-goers, dressed in costumes inspired by the Mad Max movie franchise, chose to join the dance.

The effort has raised over $55,000 for the festival’s charity partner, the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

The festival has raised over $500,000 for RFDS since 2016.

Festival owner Greg Donovan said:

“We were very close and hopeful of catching the NSW world record, but the Birdsville Big Red Bash managed to retain the title by a small margin.”

He said he hopes the loss will inspire even more spectators next year.

“It will be fun to watch the states battle it out at the Bash festival for years to come,” he said.

“In any case, it is a win-win to continue to raise such important funds for our charity partner, the Royal Flying Doctor Service.”

Jennifer Mastras of the Royal Flying Doctor Service said the event has so far raised about $80,000 and the funds are still being tallied.

“Although we weren’t able to break any records this time, we have seen incredible support for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and have made valuable contributions to ensure that people in rural and remote areas have access to quality healthcare. I raised the money,” she said.

This year’s Mundi Mundi Bash is attended by approximately 8,000 people of all ages.

Headline performances include Australian music artists such as Oz rock legend Jimmy Barnes, country queen Casey Chambers, Daryl Braithwaite, Russell Morris, Pierce Brothers, Bachelor Girl and Buckleys.

Last night, John Stevens hit the stage at Outback Festival.

While on stage, Stevens joined a list of other artists, calling out Scott Morrison and dedicating No Rise’s performance to the former prime minister.

Early in the festival, Midnight Oil and Missy Higgins joined forces on stage, with Oils’ Mundi Mundi Bash performance being one of the last performances for Australian fans before retirement.

first published as Outback Nutbush Attempt at Mundi Mundi Failed