David Ryan, Velenje (MMC RTV SLO) reported recently that accordionist Robert Goter (from Velenje) has broken the Guinness World Record for the longest time that one person has spent playing the accordion continuously.

The new record, set in Velenje, Slovenia now stands at 83 hours at 25 seconds. The previous record was just under 81 hours. Robert Goter spent six months preparing for the attempt. He was only allowed short breaks each hour, as per the rules.

He said that he had learnt from the experience of a previous attempt and wanted to break the record on the 40th anniversary of his taking up the instrument. He began his mammoth task at 9am.

Last April, Robert set the Slovenian record for continuous accordion playing of 58 hours, 21 minutes and 24 seconds.

Later that day (May 17th, 2026), an attempt was made to break the Guinness World Record for the most people playing the accordion together in one place, at the Velenje Vista near Velenje Lake, under the patronage of the President, Nataša Pirc Musar.

The current world record, which was set in China, stands at 5,282 musicians.

Unfortunately they did not break the record of most accordion players in one place this year, however, 4,066 accordionists and more than 11,000 visitors gathered, which was a tremendous success.

The honorary sponsor of the event was the President of the Republic of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar, who attended the celebrations.

The mayor of Velenje municipality, Peter Dermol said: “Velenje is a small Slovenian city, but it has big people that know how to cooperate and connect. We swung to the world wide pedestal of accordion players. Bravo! So thank you to everyone who is here today and to everyone who helped organize this event.”