BY JAKE CHNG

IN LESS than two hours after the formation of what is possibly the world's longest light-stick chain, close to 10,000 light sticks were taken by people.

An 8.09km nylon cord, with 10,000 red-coloured light sticks attached to it, was laid on the pavement from SingTel Comcentre in Exeter Road to Siloso Beach at Sentosa last Friday.

This was meant to publicise outdoor party ZoukOut, which will take place on December 12, and was organised by ZoukOut's main sponsor, telecommunications company SingTel.

SingTel said that it hoped that the chain would set a record both in Singapore and in the world for being the longest of its kind.

It also wanted members of the public to take the light sticks.

"We realised that light sticks are commonly used by youths in parties, and wanted to send an invitation to them. Forming the light-stick chain was a good way of doing it," said Ms Betty Lim, senior manager of segment marketing and communications at SingTel.

The public response was staggering: 98 per cent of the 10,000 sticks were taken in less than two hours.

"The rapid take-up rate came as a pleasant surprise to us. Thankfully, we took measures to equip ourselves with extra light sticks to pacify the zealous public," said Ms Lim.

She added: "Given the hearty response, SingTel will definitely be rolling out more unique and exciting ideas for our campaigns."

One of the passers-by, 28-year-old banker Kris Yip, said: "I was waiting for my friends in Orchard Road and I saw people taking them. So I took six of them, five for my friends.

"It's a cool souvenir to keep, since it's part of the world's longest light-stick chain."

Taking six light sticks pales in comparison to what another passer-by took.

Stomper AngleEyes88 wrote to citizen-journalism website Stomp about seeing a man run off with what looked like 200 light sticks.

The Stomper said: "It was nice to see that people were excited, with many making off with one or two light sticks to keep. But this man actually took a whole handful of about 200 light sticks."

chngjm@sph.com.sg

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