To see the world’s biggest bonfire you’ll have to visit Alesund, Norway, where wood pallets are stacked over 40 meters (131 ft) 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.
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Sources
– vg.no: Bygger 40 meter høyt sankthansbål
– adressa.no: Reiste verdens høyeste bål
– nrk.no: Dette er ingeniørkunst som går i arv over generasjoner
– smp.no: Skal bygge verdens største bål
– Wikipedia: Sankthans
– Wikipedia: Slinningsbålet
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