Nearly 3,500 people packed Medford Square last night to sing "Jingle Bells" and try to beat the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of Christmas carolers in one place.
The current record is held by Cambridge, Ont., in Canada, where 1,175 people amassed for 28 minutes of carols last year.
Medford's attempt to establish a new record has not yet been verified by the Guinness World Records company. Verification usually takes four to six weeks.
Early counts of the Medford carolers placed the number near 2,000, but counts conducted later on at the square's three entrance gates totaled 3,450 people.
"The question isn't whether we're going to break the record, but whether we're going to triple it," Medford Mayor McGlynn said.
McGlynn also thanked the two biggest sponsors of the event, Tufts President Larry Bacow and Comcast.
The plan for the event was to reenact the original one-horse open sleigh ride that was the inspiration for the composition of "Jingle Bells," which also occurred in Medford Square in 1850.
After over half an hour of caroling, McGlynn congratulated the carolers. "You are the world champions," he said.
He also organized a salute to Medford residents now in Iraq, which culminated in the crowd unfurling a giant American flag and carrying it up High Street to City Hall.
Click for a slideshow of the record-setting event
