This Christmas season a record number of runners turned up dressed as Santa at fun runs in cities on either side of the Atlantic. Several cities were aiming to break the world record for Largest Santa Gathering. So which one took the prize?

On Saturday, December 1st the Las Vegas Great Santa Run was first out of the gate with 7,269 enthusiastic participants. You can even view the gunshot start with thanks to the complete running network, who have reposted the YouTube video of the event.

The event was attended by Honorary Team Captains Siegfried & Roy, illusionist Hans Klok, musicians Zowie Bowie and Honorary Head Santa, Mayor Oscar Goodman. Proceeds went to Opportunity Village, Nevada’s largest private, not-for-profit community rehabilitation program, which provides vocational programs for those with mental disabilities.

On the other side of the pond there were several contenders for the World Record.

In Liverpool, England 6,000 runners took part in the 4th Annual Santa Dash 5K on Dec. 2nd. As reported in the Liverpool Daily Post, around £100,000 was raised for 10 charities including the British Red Cross.

Other cities across the UK also held Santa run events this year including Southampton, Reading, Birmingham, London, Glasgow and Manchester.

While all these events were very successful, the first ever Santa event in Derry, Northern Ireland took the prize for the largest Santa Gathering. Amazingly there were over 13,000 people in Guildhall Square and walking the city walls!

The Derry Journal reports on the turnout of this year’s events:

Derry seems certain to enter the Guinness Book of World Records after Sunday’s Santa charity appeal was attended by over 13,000 people. While the exact figure may not be confirmed for up to three weeks, organiser Martin Mullan confirmed that over 12,000 had registered prior to the day and over 1,500 people registered on Sunday morning alone.

Not only was this this the largest Santa gathering it raised a great sum for several charities. The event raised £400,000 for Children in Crossfire, iCare 4 autism, Foyle Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Care for Children.

As quoted in the Belfast Telegraph. Martin Mullan, chief organiser, said:

This day will go down in history. I am the proudest man in the whole world. Many said we’d never do it but the streets of Derry were a sea of red and white, and we proved them wrong. We may be a small city compared with Liverpool, Vegas and Glasgow, but people of Derry have a big heart and that’s what we have shown the world by achieving this.

View more photos from the Belfast Telegraph

All of these events ushered in a very Merry Christmas for all the charities involved and the thousands of people supporting them with their attendance.