SHOTLIST:

ENSCHEDE, THE NETHERLANDS (AUGUST 17, 2025) (ANADOLU – ACCESS ALL)

1. VARIOUS OF DRONE SHOTS OF EUROPE’S TALLEST SUNFLOWER SUPPORTED ON SCAFFOLDING

2. VARIOUS OF 9.18-METER-TALL SUNFLOWER SEEN FROM BELOW

3. VARIOUS OF JEROEN VAN DER VELDE SHOWING HIS AWARDS, PHOTOGRAPHS AND NEWS ARTICLES ABOUT HIS RECORD-BREAKING SUNFLOWERS

4. EUROPE’S TALLEST SUNFLOWER SEEN FROM VAN DER VELDE’S BALCONY (2 SHOTS)

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) VAN DER VELDE SPEAKING AT HIS BALCONY, SAYING:

“My name is Jeroen van der Velde. I'm from Enschede, the Netherlands, and this year I have a sunflower. Nine meters and 18cm tall. It’s the world's tallest sunflower in one stem, one head category in the world. So, I'm a really happy gardener. Yeah.

This is the result of 29 years gardening. In 1996, I was ten years old, and I planted from each year the tallest plant, the seed. And every year they got taller and taller. And yeah. Now they are above the rooftops of the houses. So, it's a lot of public. Yeah. It's incredible.”

6. VARIOUS OF VAN DER VELDE CHECKING HIS SUNFLOWER WHILE STANDING ON TOP OF SCAFFOLDING ENSCHEDE, THE NETHERLANDS - AUGUST 17: Dutch grower Jeroen van der Velde has set a new European record with a 9.18-meter sunflower in Enschede, Netherlands.

After nearly 30 years of dedication, van der Velde built scaffolding in his backyard to support the towering plant. Another sunflower is still growing and could surpass the current record, adding suspense to the competition.

Van der Velde says his next goal is to break the world record.