Tel Aviv Lego Tower Breaks World Record To Honor Child Who Died Of Cancer
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Lego tower built in Tel Aviv is poised to set a new world record.
The 118-foot tower was built from more than half a million Lego bricks donated by residents of Tel Aviv, in memory of a young cancer victim.
Construction of the tower next to the Tel Aviv City Hall was completed on Wednesday. It was built by a cadre of Tel Aviv municipal workers and local volunteers, according to AFP.
The structure has been named Omer Tower, in memory of Omer Sayag, who died of cancer in 2014 at the age of 8. Sayag built Lego towers and other constructions throughout his illness, when he was too weak to play outside, the Jerusalem Post reported. Among his most complex projects was a replica of the Taj Mahal.
Sayag’s kindergarten teachers, Ben Klinger and Shirley Bardugo, conceived of the project to honor the child’s memory, working in conjunction with an Israeli educational group, Young Engineers, according to the Post.
The Young Engineers were responsible for the technical challenges involved in creating a standalone tower of that height, including putting its individual sections together at the end.
The previous Guinness World Record of 115 feet was set in 2015 by the Italian subsidiary of Lego.
The municipality told AFP that it will submit proof, including photos taken from a drone, to Guinness.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO