A human rainbow is where a group of people form a pattern

Pattern

A pattern, from the French patron, is a type of theme of recurring events or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of a set of objects.These elements repeat in a predictable manner...

 on the ground by placing themselves in the typical characteristics of a rainbow

Rainbow

A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...

. For example wearing the colours red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet and forming a rainbow arch

Arch

An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...

 at the same time. Some human rainbows are formed in celebration of anniversaries and for charitable purposes. These human rainbows usually involve a large number of people participating and this has resulted in world records being broken. These records are officially recognised by the Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

.

Records

• In 1997, 6,444 people formed a human rainbow at Transco Tower Park, Houston, Texas
  Texas
  Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
  
  , United States
  United States
  The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
  
  .

• On October 6, 2002, 11,273 Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  The Hong Kong Polytechnic University specialises in professional education in Hong Kong. The University’s teaching units are grouped under six faculties and two schools; the Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles, Faculty of Business, Faculty of Construction and Environment, Faculty of...
  
    staff, students, alumni, friends and families united together and set a new world record. All wearing T-shirts and caps in seven rainbow colours, they formed the largest Human Rainbow in the world. This historic event, held in celebration of Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  The Hong Kong Polytechnic University specialises in professional education in Hong Kong. The University’s teaching units are grouped under six faculties and two schools; the Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles, Faculty of Business, Faculty of Construction and Environment, Faculty of...
  
   65th anniversary, aimed to raise fund for the University, the Children's Cancer Foundation and The Hong Kong Society for the Aged.

• On November 15, 2003, 11,750 individuals assembled in Floriana
  Floriana
  Floriana is a town in Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. Floriana is the birthplace of many famous Maltese, amongst which the composer of the national anthem, 'L-Innu Malti', Robert Samut; former Bishop of Malta Dom Mauro Caruana, the poet Oliver Friggieri, and Swedish Idol winner...
  
  , Malta
  Malta
  Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
  
   to break the record. The Prime Minister of Malta
  Prime Minister of Malta
  The Prime Minister of Malta is the Head of Government of Malta.-Establishment of the office and developments:The office of "Head of Ministry" was created as soon as Malta was granted autonomous government in 1921. The 1921 constitution was suspended twice before being revoked...
  
  , Eddie Fenech Adami
  Eddie Fenech Adami
  Edward “Eddie” Fenech Adami is a Maltese politician who was Prime Minister of Malta from 1987 until 1996 and again from 1998 until 2004...
  
   and members of the opposition also joined in. The money which was raised from the participants went to 23 different charity institutions.

• On September 18, 2004, over 31,000 students, faculty, staff and alumni of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines
  Polytechnic University of the Philippines
  The Polytechnic University of the Philippines commonly known as PUP is a public research university in the Philippines. It was founded on October 19, 1904 as the Manila Business School, offering commerce-related courses...
  
   broke the record previously held by the Maltese. They used the human rainbow to celebrate the university's centennial, which was from 1904 to 2004, and to highlight the signing of the Declaration of Peace which will be submitted to the United Nations
  United Nations
  The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
  
  .

External links

• Message from Dr. Samuel M. Salvador, Acting President of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines
• Sponsors and acknowledgement of the Philippine human rainbow
• Photos of the Hong Kong human rainbow
• Photos of the Malta human rainbow
• More photos of the Malta human rainbow
• Photos of the Philippines Human Rainbow