World's best air guitarists strum for world peace in Finland
Kate MüserAugust 24, 2016
There's loud music, headbanging and crowds of screaming fans. Only the guitars are missing. At the annual Air Guitar World Championship in Finland, showmanship is more important than musicianship.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J.Karppanen
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The elite among the international air guitar scene don't just gather each year in the Finnish city of Oulu to shake their long hair and jump around on stage, but also to strive for loftier humanitarian goals.
"The purpose of the Air Guitar World Championships is to promote world peace," reads the official website. "According to the ideology of the Air Guitar, wars would end, climate change stop and all bad things disappear, if all the people in the world played the Air Guitar."
Now in its 21st year, the Air Guitar World Championship takes place from August 24-26, with the grand finale on Friday evening. Last year's winner, Kereel "Your Daddy" Blumenkrants (pictured above), was the first-ever medalist from Russia.
He'll be defending his title against competitors from around the world. National preliminaries are held in 10 countries, each of which boasts a strong air guitar scene: Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, the Netherlands, and the United States.
On Thursday, a Dark Horses' Qualifying Round is held for participants from countries that don't hold national preliminaries.
Gold, silver and bronze medals are handed out at the grand finale on Friday night. The winner also receives the one thing he or she needs most: a guitar, hand-made by Finnish guitar maker Matti Nevalainen.
As the results from the past two decades reveal, Finland and the US have regularly made strong appearances.
The Air Guitar World Championships takes place as part of the Oulu August Festival, which runs from August 4 to September 3. The month-long cultural event features music, cinema, literature and other performing arts.
What would a trip to Finland be without a visit to the sauna? Side activities, including local sightseeing and a unique floating sauna are on the agenda.
Click through the gallery below for other unusual world championships.
5 activities you probably didn't know hold world championships
From air guitaring to extreme ironing, there are odd world championships all over the world. But winning isn't always top priority - most of them are about the joy of being silly.
Image: picture-alliance/ASA/Sampics
Air guitar
Allegedly, the grandfather of air guitaring is Joe Cocker. He even did it during his famous Woodstock show in 1969. While the hippies gave him a skeptical look back in the day, the "lightest instrument in the world" is now world famous. There is a world championship held in Oulu, Finland. Joe Cocker might have had quite a chance with his performance.
Image: picture-alliance/EPA/K. Brandt
High-heel racing
The High Heel Drag Queen Race originated in Washington, D.C., where drag queens have been "crossing the line" and competing on stilettos for the past 30 years. The race has since spread all over the world. Most contests have strict rules regarding the length and width of the heels. The winner's secret: long steps and don't roll your feet!
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T.Brakemeier
Cheese rolling
A cheese wheel is rolled down a steep hill at up to 70 mph and dozens of Brits run after it. Sound like fun? Though it's nearly impossible to actually catch the cheese round, whoever reaches the bottom of the hill first wins anyways. Broken bones and other injuries are not uncommon, yet hundreds of fans come to Gloucestershire to witness the spectacle.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Deer calling
Back in the day, hunters used to imitate the call of male deers in order to attract females. Today, it's more of a hobby - and a competition at Europe's largest hunting fair, "Jagd & Hund," in Dortmund. Contestants use plastic pipes, snail shells or ox horns to bellow. Competitors not only have to imitate the call of a young deer, but also the deeper, angrier one of older deer. The best call wins.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B.Thissen
Extreme ironing
It's not about wrinkle-free laundry. Extreme ironing is much more about extraordinary places. The world championship has several teams completing a course at several locations: underwater, in a forest, on a climbing wall, or on top of a car. Whoever is the most creative and finishes their laundry the fastest is the winner. The "sport" has its roots in England.
