HYDERABAD, INDIA: More than 160,000 devotees who chanted hymns in honour of a Hindu deity in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad have set a new record for the world's largest choir, officials said.

The vast ranks of singers gathered on Sunday for more than an hour to perform hymns penned by 15th century saint and poet Tallapaka Annamacharya.

Their mass singalong in Telugu, the language of Andhra Pradesh state, broke the previous 72-year-old record of a 60,000-strong German choir, the United News of India news agency reported.

A Guinness World Records representative was present to confirm the achievement and award a certificate.

The event was organised by a local cultural body and a temple authority to mark the 601st anniversary of Annamacharya's birth. (AFP)