At the fan exhibition Bricking Bavaria at the Messe Augsburg collapsed on 30 October 2026 intended for a world record self-supporting cable-stayed bridge made of LEGO bricks. The 55-year-old Munich resident Gerald Lasser had designed the structure based on the Øresund Bridge with a planned continuous span of just under 17 metres, built from around 80,000 LEGO bricks. The collapse occurred on Friday afternoon, the day the organiser had designated AFOL Day, when trade visitors and exhibitors were present. Bricking Bavaria and Messe Augsburg confirmed the event dates and said the exhibition was being held at Messe Augsburg, Halls 6 and 7.
Gerald Lasser and his son Florian Lasser were on site immediately, working to rebuild it, according to those involved. Video footage circulated by local media showed a central section of the cable-stayed bridge collapsing; according to reports so far, no one was injured. No reliable information about the cause of the collapse was available on the evening of 30 October 2026. Exhibition representatives said that although the record attempt had been set back, it was not over; an official assessment and, if appropriate, another attempt to rebuild were planned.
The record claim was for the “longest continuous, self-supporting LEGO cable-stayed bridge”; reports cite a previous span of 16.9 metres, which Lasser hoped to surpass with his project. Whether and how recognition by Guinness World Records can be secured depends on formal checks; there has been no confirmation on this so far.
Of technical relevance is that the project was to be assembled publicly at this scale for the first time: according to the organiser, the structure had not previously been tested as a whole. This means that the design assumptions, connection techniques and material behaviour still need to be assessed in full under real-world conditions. For the Bricking Bavaria exhibition, which was due to be open to visitors on 31 October and 1 November 2026, the incident means that organisational and insurance matters need to be clarified.
The facts established are the location, the event dates and the collapse on 30 October 2026; statements about the cause, responsibility and possible official recognition of the record remain subject to provisional accounts from those involved and further checks.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).