World Smile Day® 2024 Was a Monumental Day for Smiles

Two Years, two GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ titles, millions of smiles

The Empire State Building, Hawa Mahal, Royal Albert Hall, and CN Tower lit up in blue at night for World Smile Day

Last World Smile Day®, Smile Train made history, setting a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the world's largest online album of smiles. Beyond setting a new record, the day spread the message that every smile is beautiful and deserves to be seen like no other campaign we've ever run, reaching more than one million people through promotions and media hits around the globe.

2024 marks both Smile Train and World Smile Day®'s 25th anniversary. To us, that meant only one thing: We needed to go even bigger this year. So we did, making history again with our boldest, most visible, most global, most impactful World Smile Day® celebration yet — and breaking another GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title along the way! On October 4, World Smile Day®, we illuminated a record 64 landmarks around the world — from the CN Tower in Toronto to the BT Tower in London, from the Puente de la Mujer (Women's Bridge) in Buenos Aires to the Rizal Monument in Manila, to everywhere in between — in Smile Train blue.

The Big Apple on top came when actress, singer, and Smile Train Ambassador Elizabeth Gillies (Dynasty) joined us to turn the Empire State Building into a blue beacon of hope for people with clefts all over the world. 

Besides 25 years, 2024 marked another milestone for Smile Train: Sponsoring our 2 millionth cleft surgery — far more than every other charity combined. 

Smile Train patient Rajib in a hospital bed holding a picture of himself before cleft surgery
Ten-year-old Rajib from Indonesia received Smile Train's 2 millionth cleft surgery

No matter who you are, where you live, or what you believe, a smile can make your day. It can ignite a connection or spark a laugh between strangers, bring a ray of sunshine into a cloudy mood. So while we are proud to hold the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for turning 64 landmarks blue, we are even prouder to have taken the blues away from millions of people across more than 95 countries, literally lighting up the world with smiles like no other organization in history.

Empire State Building lit blue in the night
A blue beacon of hope for people with clefts all over the world

But there's still so much work left to do. Another baby is born with a cleft every three minutes. Most will struggle to eat, breathe, speak, and smile without the comprehensive care our donors make possible. Over the next 25 years and beyond, we can shine light through the darkness like never before. We just need you.