OFFBEAT

Thousands of redheads celebrate at annual festival in the Netherlands

Some 5,000 redheads from different countries visited the Dutch festival

Last updated: August 29, 2023 | 12:54

Compiled by Nathaniel Lacsina, Senior Web Editor and with inputs from Reuters

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Tilburg: Thousands of people gathered in the Netherlands this weekend to celebrate their red hair at the annual Redhead Days Festival in the southern town of Tilburg.

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Scottish Liam Hunter, 30, told Reuters attending the three-day festival made him feel better about himself. Like many redheads Hunter said he has experienced bullying over his unusual hair colour.

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"I don't feel alone anymore, I feel together, a part of something," he said, looking out over the festival grounds, "being here I'm completed".

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According to organisers, some 5,000 redheads from different countries visited the festival, which offered workshops on painting, make-up and skin care tips, photo shoots, music and speed meet events.

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Redheads make up between 1 and 2 percent of the world's population, with a higher frequency of between 2 and 6 percent in people with Northern or Northwestern European ancestry.

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The Dutch festival started by accident after organiser and amateur painter Bart Rouwenhorst placed an ad in a regional newspaper in 2005 for 15 models with red hair and 150 people responded.

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Rouwenhorst, not a redhead himself, decided to take a group picture with everyone who got in touch. That gathering was such a success and got so much attention, that the organisers decided to make it an annual event.

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In 2013, the festival entered the Guinness World Records book as the largest gathering of people with natural red hair with 1,672 redheads in the traditional group picture.

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Virginia, 47, from Paris, poses at the event.

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People attend the annual RedHead Days Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands.

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