Mud fighting, bog swimming and car launching among this year's oddest festivals (2024)

Across the world there are many wonderful events to enjoy but some are slightly weirder than others and include some bizarre traditions like throwing fruit or rolling around in mud

Across the globe there are thousands of festivals that take place each year, but they aren't just confined to music — there are many weird and wacky events which take punters way out there.

In a single post-Covid year, a total of 6.5 million music fans attended festivals in the UK. Given the country is home to Glastonbury, Latitude, Download, Reading and many other enormous events, it is easy to see why slipping on a pair of wellies and buying a box of wine has become a summer ritual for many.

However, there is a lot more out there than simply standing in a field watching Coldplay again. Whether its dangerously spreading fire through the streets of a picturesque village, going bog snorkelling or firing a car off a cliff, there are plenty of odd festivals happy to take your cash. Here are some of our favourites.

Have you been to any of these festivals? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

Tar Barrels, Ottery St Mary, England - November 5

The Tar Barrel tradition is hundreds of years old and whilst the specific origins are unknown, they probably started after the gunpowder plot of 1605. This bizarre tradition involves rolling, carrying and setting light to tar barrels through the streets of Ottery, which is now the only town in the country to carry full-sized lighted tar barrels through the streets. Each year the events takes place alongside Ottery’s November 5 bonfire, which usually stands around 35 ft tall and a girth of around 50 ft.

Bog Snorkelling, Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales

The World Bog Snorkelling Championships is a competition that has participants swim through a water-filled trench in a peat bog as quickly as possible... Whilst also wearing a snorkel, mask, and flippers. The event takes place every August bank holiday weekend, at the Waen Rhydd bog in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales. Visitors can either participate by plunging into the bogs, or enjoy the food and drink stalls, crafts, live music and a real ale and cider bar on the site.

Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling, Gloucestershire, England - May 26 202

Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling is a brutal event that has become a household name in the UK in recent years. With newspaper front pages the following day splashed with the most embarrassing photo from the competition, Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling is a quirky and intense annual event held in Gloucestershire, England that is well known for its limb-flailing brutally.

Cooper’s Hill itself is a steep and grassy slope near the village of Brockworth, and the aim of the event involves participants chasing a large, round wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down the hill. Traditionally, the cheese weighs around 4 kg and is given a one-second head start before the races launch themselves down the hill in pursuit of it. Due to the steep gradient of the hill, many of the racers themselves slip and tumble down the hill as the circular dairy product does. The winner gets to keep the cheese.

Alaska Car Launch, Glacier View in Matanuska-Susitna, USA - July 4 2025

Believe it or not this celebration is exactly as the name suggests. Each year, on July 4, instead of fireworks, Alaska has flying cars. Each July 4, thousands of Alaskans celebrate the holiday by launching more than a dozen cars off of a cliff on a remote hillside. The unusual and perhaps questionable tradition - from an environmental perspective - recently welcomed its largest crowd in its history for this years event.

La Tomatina, Valencia in Spain - August 28

Dating back to 1945, La Tomatina is a world-famous festival held every year, in Buñol, located near Valencia, Spain. Featured in multiple Hollywood films, the festival entails participants throwing tomatoes at each other on the streets. Essentially a giant joyous food fight, the festival now attracts thousands of people from across the globe.

A ritual called ‘El Palo Jabón’ involves a greased pole with a ham placed at the top. Participants try to climb up to reach the pork product. Once someone succeeds, the tomato fight officially begins. The red-fruit pelting typically lasts around one hour and after, the town square is drenched in bright tomato pulp.

Sechseläuten, Switzerland - April 28 2025

Sechseläuten is a centuries-old tradition to celebrate the beginning of spring in Zurich. The festival sees music ensembles, horses, flowers, flags and the Böögg — the festival’s main protagonist. The Böögg is a snowman-like figure which is set alight the clock of the St. Peter church when it strikes 6 pm. The faster his head – which is filled with fireworks – explodes, the finer the summer will be… Supposedly.

Battle of the Oranges, Italy - May 2025

The Battle of the Oranges (or ‘Carnevale di Ivrea’ in Italian) is yet another famous food fight, but this time with oranges and in Italy. Dating back to the mediaeval period, The Battle of Oranges is a three day festival which occurs just before Mardi Gras each year.

Around 100,000 people travel to Ivrea to witness or participate in the carnival which sees groups throwing oranges at each other. The event mimics the civil war between the Royal Napoleonic Troops and the people of Ivrea, after the murder of Rainieri di Biandrate.

Boryeong Mud Festival, South Korea - Summer 2025

In South Korea, Daecheon beach has long been recognised for its dirty water due to the beach’s mud. When the area suffered with a decrease in tourists, mayor of Daecheon Park Sang-don considered how he could promote the local economy, and as a result developed mud pack cosmetics as a key tourist product.

After lots of research, the authorities created the Daecheon Natural Mud Massage House and sold it as an ideal experience for those visiting the country for the first time. The festival takes place on the beach in the mud each summer, and visitors can enjoy different mud-related experiences including mud wrestling,

mud slides,

and mud pools.