World's Largest Bagpipe Ensemble, world record in Melbourne, Australia

November 26, 2025

Melbourne, Australia--A total of 374 pipers gathered in Melbourne, Australia, to perform AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top"; the record-breaking event took place in Federation Square, the same location where the music video for the song was filmed in 1976 and sets the world record for the World's Largest Bagpipe Ensemble, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

"The world's largest bagpipe ensemble is 374 pipers who gathered in Melbourne, Australia, in November 2025 to perform AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top".

"This record-breaking event took place in Federation Square, the same location where the music video for the song was filmed in 1976."

"The largest bagpipe ensemble was achieved by 333 participants at an event organised by the Art of Living Foundation in the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 16 May 2012," the Guinness World Records says.

"The attempt used traditional Bulgarian "kaba gaida" bagpipes which are from the Rhodope region of Bulgaria."

"A whopping 374 pipers joined forces in Melbourne to play the Australian hard rock band’s 1975 tune, which features a call-and-response between an electric guitar and bagpipes," the Smithsonian Magazine says.

"The performance took place at Melbourne’s Federation Square on Swanston Street, which served as the backdrop for the song’s official music video nearly 50 years ago.

"In the video, AC/DC performs from the bed of a truck making its way down the street, and Scottish-Australian lead singer Bon Scott plays the bagpipes alongside three pipers from the Rats of Tobruk Memorial Pipes and Drums."

"The bagpipers – all 374 of them – came together to play the AC/DC classic It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll), and in doing so became the the largest bagpipe ensemble, a record previously held by the team of 333 pipers who performed at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2012m" the Louder.com says.

"Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece was on hand to receive an Australian Book for Records certificate in recognition of the record-busting nature of the event. Earlier, the mayor had attended the opening of a new lighting installation at the entry to the city's famed AC/DC Lane."

"The world record for biggest bagpipe ensemble was broken in Melbourne on Wednesday, with 374 pipers playing in unison. The ensemble played AC/DC's It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll) to a crowd of thousands. It broke the previous record, set in Bulgaria in 2012, by 41," the abc.net.au reports.

"A crowd of thousands gathered in the CBD to watch 374 bagpipers play along to AC/DC’s It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll), shattering the world record.

"The new world record came nearly 50 years after the filming of AC/DC's iconic music video for It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll), which took place nearby."

"Billed as “The Great Melbourne Bagpipe Bash,” the eclectic performance took place in Melbourne’s Federation Square, on Swanston Street, which was the scene of the Australian hard rock band’s 1976 film clip in which they played the hit on the back of a flatbed truck traveling slowly through downtown traffic with music blaring from speakers." the AP reports.

"Federation Square is also a short stroll from the Melbourne Cricket Ground where AC/DC is scheduled to play their first Australian gig in a decade on Wednesday. Guitarist Angus Young, 70, is the only band member who played on the truck and is performing on the latest Australian tour."

Photos: World's Largest Bagpipe Ensemble, world record in Melbourne, Australia
(1,2) Facebook/ABC Illawarra

(3) Euro News

(4,5) The Sydney Morning Herald