At Maltese festival, climbing the greasy pole is part of the fun
A competitor tries to grab a flag as he falls off the "gostra", a wooden pole covered in lard, during the main competition, part of the celebrations on the religious feast day of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, Malta, August 27, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
ST JULIAN'S, Malta (Reuters) - For more than a century, locals in the small Maltese town of St Julian's have celebrated their patron saint by running up a steeply angled log, smeared with lard, protruding over the sea.
The goal is to grab increasingly difficult-to-reach flags.
The unconventional form of worship is the centerpiece of the Feast of St. Julian, which takes place in late August, and dates back to the 1800s.
Competitor Carden Mizzi tries to grab a flag as he falls off the "gostra", a wooden pole covered in lard, during the main competition, part of the celebrations on the religious feast day of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, Malta, August 27, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
Men, women and children take part in the contest, running up a 30-foot-long pole, known as the gostra, suspended over the town's harbor. Whether they win or lose however, the competitors all ultimately end up in the water.
"While I stand there right before I go up, I have a bad feeling in my gut that something might go wrong -- which is very common -- but the adrenaline rush overcomes that bad feeling, which pushes me to go," said competitor Ivan Bartoli, 21.
The choice facing competitors is clear -- when traction fails them, do they dive forward for glory, or try to make a soft landing? At events in the run up to Sunday's festival tactics ranging from dives to clinging to the pole have been seen.
A man smears lard onto the "gostra", a 65-foot-long wooden pole, before the main competition, part of the celebrations on the religious feast day of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, Malta, August 27, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
Though the festival's official date is Aug 26, celebrations including several pole-climbing competitions have been taking place in the week running up to the event's climax.
The prizes on offer for those who manage to grab one of the flags are nominal. Carden Mizzi, 29, who has been taking part in the competition for 10 years, said that victory was rewarded with "trophies or just a bruise".
"It is hard, depending on your run" Mizzi added, "If you’re afraid from the first few steps, you’d better jump off."
A competitor tries to grab a flag as he falls off the "gostra", a wooden pole covered in lard, during the main competition, part of the celebrations on the religious feast day of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, Malta, August 27, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
(Reporting by Darrin Zammit Lupi; Writing by Mark Hanrahan in London Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
A competitor grabs a flag as he falls off the "gostra", a wooden pole covered in lard, during the main competition, part of the celebrations on the religious feast day of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, Malta, August 27, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit LupiCompetitor Carden Mizzi does a back flip as he falls off the "gostra", a wooden pole covered in lard, during the main competition, part of the celebrations on the religious feast day of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, Malta, August 27, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit LupiA competitor tries to grab a flag as he falls off the "gostra", a wooden pole covered in lard, during the main competition, part of the celebrations on the religious feast day of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, Malta, August 27, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit LupiCompetitor Carden Mizzi grabs a flag as he falls off the "gostra", a wooden pole covered in lard, during the main competition, part of the celebrations on the religious feast day of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, Malta, August 27, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit LupiCompetitor Ivan Bartoli grabs a flag as he falls off the "gostra", a wooden pole covered in lard, during the main competition, part of the celebrations on the religious feast day of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, Malta, August 27, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit LupiRescue personnel keep watch during the "gostra" competition, part of the celebrations on the religious feast day of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, Malta, August 27, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit LupiA reveller carrying a beach umbrella decorated in the town's colours arrives to watch the "gostra" competition, part of the celebrations on the religious feast day of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, Malta, August 27, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
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