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World’s Tallest Bonfire

To see the world’s biggest bonfire you’ll have to visit Alesund, Norway, where wood pallets are stacked over 36 meters high on an artificial island. The occasion? Sankthans, or ‘Midsummer’, an annual festival in commemoration of John the Baptist’s birth. The day is celebrated on the 24th of June (around summer solstice) in Scandinavian countries and other parts of Europe.

In Alesund, the traditional bonfire, known as Slinningsbålet, is taken to the extreme. In 2010, a record was set for the tallest bonfire at 40.45 meters (132.71 ft). The previous record was 37.84 meters (124.14 ft) set in 1993. The base of the structure is approximately 20 meters wide (65.6 ft).

About 30-40 pepole partake in the build, and to light the structure someone must climb to the top to ignite it. If the fire doesn’t burn from top to bottom things could end badly. Be sure to check out the video at the bottom of this post for a recap of this crazy event.

Slinningsbålet 2018

French photographer, More interested in news and societal issues, he regularly works with various media and NGOs, in France and Africa, and is particularly covering stories about minorites and uprooted people struggling for their identities

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