On a Facebook page for the event, the unknown organisers delivered the ‘tragic news’ on Tuesday afternoon: ‘PILLOW FIGHT CANCELED’. Due to the enthusiastic response – more than 5,200 people had already confirmed they’d take part – the organisers needed specific licensing to host the pillow fight safely.

The fight was scheduled for next week, and the organisers say they didn’t have enough time to arrange all the required paperwork. ‘In agreement with the municipality of Groningen, we have therefore decided to cancel the event for now.’

World Record

For now? ‘We definitely have plans to make this event official in the future!’ they say on their page, but no new fight has been scheduled so far.

Groningen has a long-standing tradition for hosting enormous ‘kussengevechten’: in 2005, the city set the world record in the Guinness Book for the biggest pillow fight ever. The sports organisation ACLO got 2,997 participants to go at it in celebration of the group’s 60th anniversary.

The battle for the record has been softly raging for years. In October 2013, a new record was set by a Swedish organisation called Dada Life, which oversaw a feathery battle in Chicago with 3,813 participants.

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