The organizers announced that the city of Philadelphia had set a Guinness World Record in recognition of LGBTQ Pride Month for the “largest audience at a drag-queen storytime reading”.

WHYY reported that the event took place Saturday at the National Constitution Center, where “several hundreds of people” helped to establish the record.

At the storytime, hosted by Philadelphia Gay News, and sponsored by Visit Philadelphia, Philadelphia’s official tourism program, 263 children were read books by drag queens.

Guinness World Records sent a representative to adjudicate on the record.

Mark Segal is the publisher of Philadelphia Gay News. He said in a press release obtained by NBC 10 Philadelphia that Philadelphia was the place where our nation was founded. It was also the site of some of the most important LGBTQIA+ events in U.S. History. “We’ve created history today on land that is synonymous with the fight for freedom and fundamental rights in our country. It’s a powerful reminder about the talent, resiliency and culture of our great American City.”

Social media users have pointed out that the fact that less than 300 people attended a drag story hour in a city with 1.6 million residents shows that “a vocal majority is trying to sexualize children.”

Guinness has also set a record in the number of people who attended a drag brunch. In New York City, 412 people gathered for an event held by H&M and Gayletter, Marsha Johnson Institute, on June 20, 2023.