Latest news with #CheeseRolling
SBS Australia
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- SBS Australia
German wins cheese chase in England
Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is a curious yet very popular tradition that has been held in the English county of Gloucestershire for at least two centuries. Credit:
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
THIS is the world's most dangerous race and it involves cheese!
Credit: X On a steep hill in the quiet English countryside, chaos erupts every May. Dozens of people, many of them strangers to the region, willingly hurl themselves down a treacherous slope in pursuit of a runaway cheese wheel. This is not satire—it's a real competition, widely regarded as the world's most dangerous race, and all for a wheel of Double Gloucester. Welcome to Cheese Rolling at Cooper's Hill, a centuries-old tradition held in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, where gravity, adrenaline, and madness collide. What is cheese rolling? Cheese rolling is as straightforward as it is bizarre. A 7lb (3kg) wheel of Double Gloucester cheese is launched down Cooper's Hill, a steep, 180-meter slope with a daunting 1:2 gradient. Competitors then chase it to the bottom. The first person to either catch the cheese (nearly impossible) or cross the finish line ahead of the pack is crowned the winner—and gets to keep the cheese as a prize. — dickieevans1 (@dickieevans1) But the risk is real. The cheese wheel can hit speeds of up to 70 mph, and the slope is littered with loose rocks, stinging nettles, and tree roots. The vast majority of runners lose their footing within seconds and tumble violently to the bottom. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Japanese advice to diabetics: smart people do it Insulux Undo Injuries are frequent, with sprained ankles, dislocated shoulders, and concussions as common as grass stains. 'You've just got to have a disregard for your own safety,' said Chris Anderson, a winner of the event, in an interview with CNN Sports. When and where it happens The race is held annually on the last bank holiday Monday in May, attracting thousands of spectators from across the globe. This year's event takes place on May 26, when the grassy slopes of Cooper's Hill will once again echo with the sounds of cheering fans and the thuds of bodies hitting the ground. The hill, located near Brockworth, stands at 590 feet (180 meters) and is considered the steepest in Gloucestershire. The slope is so severe that it can cause vertigo just from standing at the top. Who can enter? The event is free and open to anyone over 18, with no registration required. Participants simply show up at the hilltop on race day. There are multiple downhill races throughout the day, including separate ones for men and women, and in recent years, people from as far away as Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Egypt have competed. The race has developed a global reputation, thanks in large part to viral videos that capture the full insanity of the event. Runners crash, flip, and slide down the hill in scenes that resemble a human avalanche more than an organized race. When did the festival start? Nobody knows for sure when the cheese rolling began. The earliest written record dates back to 1826, but local legends suggest its origins could be much older—possibly a pagan ritual to mark the arrival of spring or a practical test of barrel integrity by local coopers (barrel makers). Regardless of how it started, it has become a fiercely defended tradition for Brockworth locals. Despite growing concerns over safety and legal liability, residents have fought to keep the event alive. Race with no official organizer Here's where it gets complicated. Though the event appears well-attended and organized, there are no official organizers. Signs posted around the hill make it very clear: participants compete entirely at their own risk, and in the event of injury, there is no one to sue.
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Daredevils hurl themselves down Cooper's Hill as Gloucestershire's famous Cheese Rolling race returns
Hardy daredevils have been throwing themselves downhill as Gloucestershire's renowned Cheese Rolling race rolled back into action - only not for the faint-hearted. Eager participants marked this May Bank Holiday Monday by hurtling down Cooper's Hill, at Brockworth near Gloucester, as part of a longstanding national tradition. The event challenges people to pursue a 3kg Double Gloucester cheese rolling down the steep 200 yard hill, though has also prompted safety warnings in recent years. Hundreds of people have been gathering at Cooper's Hill to watch the occasion that is thought to have its roots in a pagan festival celebrating the return of spring. Competitors habitually chase the cheese down the 180m-high hill, with many tripping and tumbling on their way - only to pick themselves up and resume the pursuit. The first runners to catch the cheese, which can reach speeds of up to 70mph, are declared victors in various races across the event that dates back to the 1800s. But competing is not without its risks - in 1993, 15 people were injured in the racing, four of them seriously hurt, and officials have ramped up warnings in recent years. In 2009 and 2011 the race was cancelled due to safety concerns but despite this the event continued unofficially. And the 2020 and 2021 versions were called off as a result of Covid-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions, before a return on June 5 2022. It was recently revealed that the tradition could be given an official honour by being added to a UK heritage list. The Government is asking the public to nominate their favourite traditions that best reflect Britain, to be recorded in a new Inventory of Living Heritage in the UK. Nominations will be divided into seven categories, including performing arts, sports and games. Crafts and social practices such as festivals and customs will also feature, alongside oral expressions like poetry and storytelling. Other traditions in the county such as surfing the Severn Bore or Woolsack Races in Tetbury have also been touted as potential contenders for the list. Heritage minister Baroness Twycross said last month: 'The UK is rich with wonderful traditions.' Last year's Cheese Rolling men's race at Cooper's Hill was won by Tom Kopke from Germany, who told afterwards how he was 'buzzing' - and vowed to return in 2025 to defend his title. Mr Kopke, who runs his own YouTube channel, said: 'I love this event and it's just crazy. The day before I went cliff diving and I am all for these crazy events. 'I promised my grandma I am going to give it to her, so she is going to get the cheese.' Assistant Chief Constable Arman Mathieson from Gloucestershire Police has previously described the event as a 'unique tradition', adding that the force had 'no desire to stop it'. But officers said they had a duty to tell the public the local Tewkesbury Borough Safety Advisory Group had declared it unsafe, raising concerns about the potential strain on emergency services. The advisory group is made up of multiple agencies, including emergency services, who work to promote safety and welfare at events. Members have told of concerns about how officials could respond if there were a major incident, after ambulances struggled to access the site in 2023. The winner of that year's women's race was knocked unconscious at the finish line and only discovered had won after waking up in a medical tent. The event attracts competitors from around the world - as well as capturing transatlantic coverage. One notable report in 2006 in the American National Library of Medicine was headlined: 'Dozens injured as cheese roll goes crackers.' The article went on to say how 25 people were injured 'at an annual cheese rolling competition in which daredevils chase giant cheese wheels down a steep slope in western England '. The magazine said: 'Dozens took part in the bizarre event at Cooper's Hill in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, before a crowd of about 3,000 cheering spectators. 'They raced for 200m down the slope after wheel-shaped Double Gloucester cheeses, decorated in a blue and red ribbon. 'Many slipped, somersaulted, and tumbled their way to the bottom during five bone-crunching races over two hours. 'Of the 25 people hurt, 12 were spectators, one of whom was hit by one of the hard, 4kg, dinner plate sized cheeses used in each race, but only two people were taken to hospital for further assessment.' The history of Cooper Hill's Cheese-Rolling event The ceremony originally took place on Whit Monday, but was later moved to the Spring bank holiday. The first evidence of cheese rolling is found in a message written by the town crier in 1826. But even then, the writing suggested it was an old tradition, believed to be about 600-years-old. Two possible origins have been proposed for the event. Some believe it may have evolved from a requirement for maintaining grazing rights on the common, while others believe it has pagan origins from the custom of rolling objects down a hill. It is understood that bundles of burning brushwood were rolled down the hill to represent the birth of the New Year after winter. It is also believed to have links to a traditional fertility rite where buns, biscuits and sweets are scattered from the top of the hill by the Master of Ceremonies (the official host).
CNN
26-05-2025
- Sport
- CNN
The art of chasing a block of cheese down a steep hill
One of the most unique traditions in sport, the annual Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling competition in western England will be held this Monday. Thousands of spectators and brave competitors from all over the world will head to the iconic 200-yard hill so steep that very few participants manage to stay on their feet. World Sport's Don Riddell recently caught up with 23-time winner Chris Anderson who shared some insight on not only how to win, but also how to just make it down in one piece!
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
A wheel of cheese, a steep hill and broken bones: say hello to the world's most dangerous race
One of the most unique traditions in sport, the annual Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling competition in western England will be held this Monday. Thousands of spectators and brave competitors from all over the world will head to the iconic 200 yard hill so steep that very few participants manage to stay on their feet. World Sport's Don Riddell recently caught up with 23-time winner Chris Anderson who shared some insight on not only how to win, but also how to just make it down in one piece! - Clipped From Video - Clipped From Video It's been described as the world's most dangerous race, and it's certainly one of the most ridiculous – a 200-yard dash after a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. To win, all you have to do is chase it down a grassy hill and cross the finish line before anyone else; however, that's much easier said than done. The hill is so steep that it could give you vertigo on the start line and there is absolutely no guarantee that you will make it down to the bottom in one piece. Advertisement 'You've just got to have a disregard for your own safety,' Chris Anderson explained to CNN Sports. Anderson won his first of his record 23 races in 2005 and broke his ankle in the celebrations, but the excruciating pain and eight weeks in a cast didn't put him off. The next year he won again, but he doesn't remember much about his third victory in 2007, when he crossed the finish line unconscious. 'That was a bit of a blur,' he noted, recalling that he'd banged his head on the way down. Chris Anderson holds his cheese as he receives medical attention following a 2005 race. He won but suffered a broken ankle. -Nobody seems to know for sure how long they've been chasing cheese wheels down Cooper's Hill in the village of Brockworth in southwest England, but it first appeared in written records in 1826. It might have started as a pagan ritual to bless the farmers' crops, or perhaps they were originally rolling barrels down to test their integrity – a cooper is, after all, a barrel maker. Advertisement But it's a tradition that the locals have fought to preserve and it's one they are intensely proud of. And now, with the advent of the internet age, it's an event which has become truly international; thousands of people flock to the event on the last bank holiday in May, and winners have hailed from as far afield as New Zealand and Australia, Egypt and the United States. But the ultimate champions are the people who know the hill best: the locals. 'I used to go up there camping with my friends,' Anderson said. 'We used to get drunk and throw each other down.' Chris Anderson poses at the bottom of the hill after winning in 2022. -The hill is absurdly steep: an initial drop of 60 degrees with an average of 45 degree incline. Looking down from the top, it initially seems like a sheer drop and many runners have changed their minds at the last minute when they realize what they're in for. Advertisement 'The first 10 meters are, like, near vertical,' Anderson explained to CNN. 'You've just got to almost dive into it and try to stay on your feet. 'As soon as you go, there's no stopping, you've just got the let momentum take over. Just try and keep on your feet as long as possible, and if you fall, get up as quick as you can.' Ideally, Anderson prefers the ground to be soft, but not wet. The drier it is, the better the traction, the harder the terrain, the greater the potential for injuries. Organized chaos Video footage of any cheese rolling race depicts a scene of utter chaos. Few competitors are able to remain upright for very long, some are anxiously trying to maintain control by sliding on their bottoms, while others have lost all dignity, careening down in various states of distress. Advertisement Still images captured by photographers at the bottom present a confusing tableau, as if a giant has tipped a box of action figures out onto the hillside, bodies are upside down, or airborne sideways, and limbs are flailing everywhere. Competitors take part in the annual Cooper's Hill cheese rolling race in Brockworth, England. - Joe Giddens/PA/AP Anderson first attended the cheese rolling when he was around 10 years old, and he remembers seeing the mass of humanity flashing past him on the hill. 'It was so fun to watch people flying and falling,' he reminisced, adding that it wasn't all fun and games. 'One of the most standout things was someone breaking their leg, his studs got stuck in the ground and the momentum just pushed him forward. He was sat in the middle of the hill with his leg just dangling, it was pretty disgusting!' Advertisement Serious injuries are practically guaranteed, one year Anderson witnessed three broken ankles, two of which belonged to international runners who missed their flights home because of emergency surgery. Ankle injuries are common – some have witnessed feet out of alignment by 180 degrees – as are concussions; 2023 women's champion Delaney Irving was knocked out just before the finish line and only learned of her triumph when she was told about it in the medical enclosure. On the Netflix docuseries 'We Are the Champions,' women's record holder and four-time winner Flo Early revealed a protrusion of her right shoulder, a permanent disfigurement, caused by a collar bone that was broken on the hill. Competitors' limbs flail during a race in 2023. - Kin Cheung/AP It's therefore no surprise that many runners might need a splash of alcohol in order to run. Anderson said that the races used to start at 6:30 p.m. in the evening, but the start time was moved earlier because too many people were intoxicated. Now, runners in need of some Dutch courage just start drinking earlier. Advertisement Anderson told CNN Sports he prepares in moderation by drinking a single can of lager on the walk up. 'I always saw that if you were drunk and you broke something, there's not a great deal they can give you for the pain, so I always try to do it as sober as possible,' he said. Signs posted all over the hill make it clear that runners are participating at their own risk, the local enthusiasts who stage the event say they are not official organizers – in case of injury, there is nobody to sue, and the event is uninsured. Nevertheless, the BBC reported in 2013 that the Gloucestershire police force advised 86-year-old cheesemaker Diana Smart – who makes the 6.6-pound (three-kilogram) wheel of Double Gloucester cheese used in the race – that she could be held liable because anyone who facilitates the event could be deemed an organizer by default. Anderson told CNN that he never had any intention of breaking the record of 21 cheese wins, which was set in 1991, but once he got to 13, he decided to keep going. In 2011 and 2017, he won three races in a single day and he broke the record with two more wins in 2018. Advertisement At the age of 37, he's recovering from a long-term hip injury – and he is 'supposed to be retired' – but if his 16-year-old son decides to compete then he could be tempted back onto the hill, partly to make sure he does it right. 'I'd be happy for him to run,' he said, 'but I've told him if you're not gonna commit, there's no point in even doing it.' The veteran cheese-chaser knows that there are many ways to be hurt on the hill. 'The most dangerous thing is going slow and getting hit from behind. I'd like him to be quick enough to get away from the carnage.' And if he ever decides to run again, he said it won't be for the cheese: 'I actually don't like it. It's got quite a strong aftertaste to it.' For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at
