Tree-hugging now has a world champion – and you can join in online, too
- An Italian was crowned champion at the Tree-hugging World Championships in Levi, Finland, for her ‘convincingly caring and insightfully profound’ hugs
- An online competition where people can upload photos of themselves or someone they know hugging a tree is running until August 29
As marketing gimmicks go, this one is cute. The world now has a tree-hugging champion.
August 22 saw the crowning of Stefania D at the first Tree-hugging World Championships, and until August 29 (the end of Tree-hugging Week, which has been celebrated in Finland since 2016), anyone with a desire to put their arms around a trunk can enter a virtual competition.
Planned before Covid-19 struck, the championships, which took place in the HaliPuu Forest, in Levi, Finland, had to be scaled down as a result of pandemic restrictions but nevertheless drew huggers representing Australia, Britain, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and the United States.
The event was watched live by more than 12,000 viewers globally on Periscope and Instagram, according to the organisers.
The competitors, who were already living in Levi and therefore did not need to travel, competed in three events: speed-hugging (most trees hugged in 90 seconds, each hug lasting minimum five seconds); dedication (most dedicated hug lasting at least one minute); and freestyle (most creative hug, lasting a maximum of 30 seconds).
“Several styles and takes on tree-hugging were showcased during the event, including impressive acrobatic acts [handstands, essentially] and a beautiful mother-daughter fairy-tale hug [by Team Russia],” the press release said.