World record singing duo hopes to bring act to Qatar

Two Australia-based Indian siblings have set a world record of memorisng and singing the national anthems of 193 countries in six hours with the programme ‘Salute the Nations’ at an event in Brisbane on Tuesday, the World Peace Day, marked annually on September 21. Teresa Joy and Agnes Joy are looking forward to repeat the feat in as many countries as possible and are hoping for an opportunity to perform during the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup to promote the message of global peace.They have become the first individuals singing more than 100 international languages at a stretch as well as memorising and singing the national anthems of all the countries under the UN. The world record documents were handed over to the duo by UN officials after the event on Tuesday. The feat has been registered in several record books including the Universal Book of Records.“The sisters plan to travel around the world and repeat the feat in as many countries as possible with the help of the UN. The proceeds from the events will go to UN’s peace and charity efforts, philanthropic organisations and outfits working for women’s safety,” a relative of the siblings and a resident of Qatar, told Gulf Times.“They are also looking to get an opportunity to perform during the football World Cup here in Qatar. Their motto is to promote world peace, children’s safety and women’s empowerment. They aim to contribute the proceeds from the concerts for these goals,” she added.Officials from various world record organisations, including the Universal Book of Records watched the event. The duo completed the feat in three rounds. They sang continuously for two hours and took a break of 10 minutes and resumed singing.The duo learnt to sing the national anthems after conducting extensive research for over eight years. They learnt the meaning of each national anthem and its history before memorising them and then worked for months to perfect their recitation.In 2020, the sisters were selected to perform the anthems in various countries as part of the 75th anniversary of the UN but the event was cancelled due to Covid-19. However they have sung and uploaded the national anthem of each country on various social media platforms, expressing solidarity with the Covid-19 hit people.Teresa is a third year undergraduate student of criminal psychology at Griffith University, Queensland while Agnes is a class 12 student of Calamvale Community College.They also run the Agnes and Theresa Peace Foundation for the empowerment of women and children.