Skip to main content

Pennsylvania native Shane Gillis breaks two Guinness World Records at Lincoln Financial Field

By CNN

Click here for updates on this story

    PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (KYW) — Fresh off the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Lincoln Financial Field is part of another milestone.

Shane Gillis breaks 2 world records
Comedian and actor Shane Gillis made history Friday night at the South Philadelphia stadium, breaking two Guinness World Records.

Gillis set new marks for the largest audience for a comedian with 73,946 attendees and the most tickets sold for a comedy show by a solo comedian with 77,047 tickets.

The sold-out event marked the largest headlining show of his career.

While stand-up heavyweight Dave Chappelle made an appearance, the show was mostly a hometown affair, with cameos from Travis Kelce, West Chester native Bam Margera, and Philly-area comedians Jay Oakerson and Matt McCusker, along with a performance by Meek Mill.

Philadelphia Eagles players Cooper DeJean and Jordan Mailata also helped kick off the show.

In a press release Guinness World Records adjudicator Andy Glass said in part, “Tonight’s event was a powerful reminder that record-breaking achievements continue to capture people’s imagination around the world.”

The show marked a full-circle moment for the comedian who was able to set the records at the home stadium of his favorite team.

Fans brave air quality for record-breaking show
A hazy sunset in South Philadelphia Friday night. Smoke filled the area around the Linc and lingered into the night for the concert.

“I’d put a hazmat suit on to go see Shane. I won’t miss this for the world,” one fan said.

What’s normally a clear picture of the city’s skyline, was barely visible.

The city has been plagued by wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota for the past two days, triggering several air quality alerts. Fans say they weren’t too bothered by the smoke though.

“It does smell a little smokey but hasn’t hit me,” one man said.

“Not the best conditions in the world but we will make the best of it,” another fan said

The city of Philadelphia says conditions have slightly improved, but they’re warning the public to take the air quality seriously. All public pools and splash pads were closed on Friday and the city suspended trash collection for the day for the health and safety of city workers.

In Fairmount Park, trash cans and trash bags covered part of the sidewalk.

“We do plan on working all day Saturday and Sunday to ensure last week’s trash and recycling is collected in time for our service to be on a regular schedule starting Monday,” said Carlton Williams, Director of Clean and Green Initiatives.

The health department says the air remains unhealthy and if possible move as many activities as you can indoors.
They are encouraging people to take advantage of places like the city’s libraries.

“Since the air outside is not good and that people need a place to shelter we recommend they come in and just hang out so they can stay safe,” said Jennifer Chang.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Howard president defends university’s unenrollment decisions, says more than 200 students have been re-enrolled

A sign greets people at the entrance to Howard University on June 5, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)(WASHINGTON) -- After gaining national attention for unenrolling more than 500 incoming first-year students over missed tuition and financial-aid deadlines, Howard University has reinstated over 200 incoming students, according to the university's interim president.In an interview with Stephanie Ramos on ABC News Live on Wednesday, interim President Wayne A.I. Frederick offered new insight into the university's perspective amid intense backlash from students."We looked at students who were able to give us the documentation we were asking for in the first place, such as evidence of an external scholarship, and also students were able to remit payment, and so we took that into consideration despite the fact that it was late," Frederick said of the decision to re-enroll students."Having said that, we have now reviewed all 502 students, and so most of the decisions, if not all of them, have been made," he continued.Asked if overenrollment was a contributing factor in the university's decision-making, Frederick told ABC News that all students who were unenrolled previously had housing assigned to them and that this was not a matter of "bed capacity."He said the reason for holding students to the payment deadline is that the university wants to avoid putting students in financial situations that would prevent them from finishing their degree, citing Howard's four-year graduation rate at under 70%."We really are trying to do our best to make sure that when students start, they can finish. And this is part of what we must do on the front end because I think having them leave without a degree and with debt is not the right thing as well," Frederick explained.Multiple students who said they were unenrolled spoke with ABC News, saying they do not believe the university communicated with them effectively.Dwayne Irvin, a 19-year-old from Missouri, told ABC News that he was blindsided by Howard's decision to unenroll him. He said he had been communicating with the university's financial aid office about pending outside scholarships and plans to enroll in a payment plan."They told me to wait to enroll into that payment plan until that scholarship has been deposited into my account, so my monthly payments could be cheaper. I said, OK, that makes sense. So I went with that route...A week later, I get the email saying I was out," Irvin said.Frederick expressed a willingness to improve the university's communications but defended Howard's actions."Over 2,200 students, families did exactly what we expected them to do and followed the policies and procedures and met the deadline, which means that I feel that our communication was pretty comprehensive," Frederick said, adding, "We certainly need to recognize that we have to enhance our communications and really support our students even more."Nikiyah Clark, a 17-year-old from Ohio who was set to enroll at Howard as a first-year this fall, said she was told by the university that she was not permitted to re-enroll this year. She said she had missed a tuition payment deadline, but told ABC News that she had only received notice of the deadline the day it was due."I tried to hold back tears as I walked out of the building. I tried to compose myself, but I couldn't. I was so sad. I was very hurt," Clark said, adding "It was a very disheartening situation, considering the fact that I worked so incredibly hard to get to earn my place at the university."Frederick told ABC News that the university will hold enrollment space in next year's class, and transfer and deferral opportunities for unenrolled students."We will still make every attempt to keep those students within the Howard family," he said.Those new enrollment processes have not yet been publicly detailed by Howard.Irvin said he had been told about these options, but will not be re-enrolling. However, the family of Mason Farmer, another student who was unenrolled, told ABC News that the university had told them there was no more space for him to enroll this fall.Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Read Next Story

Related Stories

Latest News
The Michelin Guide has awarded stars for 100 years. These dishes tell its story
41 minutes ago

The Michelin Guide has awarded stars for 100 years. These dishes tell its story

Flock cameras are getting mobbed

Cyclospora outbreak clouds strong earnings for Taco Bell’s parent company

El mercado de bonos a Kevin Warsh: ¿Qué está haciendo respecto a la inflación?

¿A quién llama "traidor" Elon Musk?