In dating, they say there are plenty more fish in the sea.
For more than 1,000 record-breaking speed daters meeting in Brussels yesterday, the bigger the sea, the better your chances of reeling in a catch.
Organisers billed the Valentine's Day event as the world’s biggest ever speed date with 1,363 people attending, saying they smashed the previous record of 964 set in Dublin in 2019.
In a cavernous former warehouse-turned-event space filled with rows of tables, bright lights and disco music, participants circulated every four minutes, meeting on average 16 people over the course of the evening.
More than 1,300 romantics gathered in Brussels yesterday in an effort to set a world record for the world's biggest ever speed date - and possibly find love in the process | Read more: https://t.co/Ayam5VhEDJ pic.twitter.com/nh0tgMybCW
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) February 15, 2023
Organisers split those signed up into groups by age and sexual orientation but apart from that they were not screened - which is what many participants said made it better than internet dating.
"It's a tiny space of time so if it's not nice it won't last too long and I do think that in a few minutes - four tonight, seven in general -you get a good idea of the person. The first impression is usually the good one," 38-year-old Elisabeth Elleboudt said.
As for organising the event on Valentine’s Day, Jill de Graaf from Dare to Date said it was time to reclaim it for single people.
"It’s the day of love but also I’m single and I know all of my friends in couples are all doing something and it can be a pretty sad day for singles but we’re just taking it back," she said.
