(source: SITA)
Several events in Bratislava marked St Valentine’s Day – and not only for enamoured couples. A musical programme was held at Kuchajda Lake and Chinese happiness lanterns were released at dusk. People who brought a certificate confirming they had made a blood donation received a free happiness lantern. The city part of Ružinov hosted free ice skating for all age categories at its Areál Radosť that also involved a competition for children between 15:00 and 17:00.
For grown-ups in Bratislava, the Želaj Si non-profit organisation staged an attempt to set a record in the number of couples kissing simultaneously, Soňa Rebrová of the organising committee told the TASR newswire. She said that 45 couples took part by paying a €1 registration fee and that along with the proceeds from selling pieces of a huge heart-shaped cake the event raised up to €200 to help fulfil wishes of seriously ill children.
But the national kissing record was actually broken in Prešov where 332 couples kissed at the same time, the Korzár daily wrote. The registered couples broke a previous national record in simultaneous kisses at this year’s event held on the city’s main street.
“We are very happy about the number of registered couples. Love is important and it can be seen that people have not forgotten it,” Jana Krajkovičová, head of Rádio Prešov which organised the event, told Korzár. The record-breaking kissers were old as well as young, from couples newly in love to couples married for some time. Participants could also have their photographs taken under a shining red heart and sample a piece of a 2-metre cake.
Downtown Košice hosted an event called Valentínska lásky dokazovačka (Valentine’s Love Proof) in the early evening on a stage in front of the city’s Lower Gate (Dolná brána). Couples could show their love in various ways such as making a declaration of love when cycling together, with the woman sitting on a throne, and through various kinds of tests such as archery. There was also a jumbo screen showing videos with love slogans as well as a tombola, the SITA newswire wrote.
