Plucky air guitarists chase stringless glory at world titles in Finland
Nanami 'Seven Seas' Nagura from Japan performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERS
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Air guitar enthusiasts gathered in the Finnish city of Oulu on Friday to shred and strum their imaginary instruments in pursuit of the world championship of the bizarre dance form.
Under gray, wet skies, this year's 15 finalists appeared on the open air stage on Oulu's central square, twanging, jangling, riffing, screeching and plucking the air.
This year's title was taken by Japan's Nanami Nagura, who performed under the artist name Seven Seas in the contest's 23rd edition.
Dana 'Dana-saurus Rex' Schiemann from Canada performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERS
She started her performance dressed as a modest cleaning lady before transforming into a heavy metal guitarist as her song kicked in. Her prize was a hand-carved guitar called the Flying Finn.
"I'm really, really happy, I can not believe it now!" she said after the contest.
Nagura was one of the seven performers who had entered the final through qualifiers in other parts of the world. The other eight finalists qualified through a "dark horse" round that took place in the host city the night before.
Andrew 'Flying Finn' Finn from the U.S. performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERS
This year's oldest participant Bob Wagner, known as "Mr. Bob", traveled from Canada to celebrate his 75th birthday on stage at the dark horse contest.
"I believe it's their desire to perform and to vent their artistic visions...The Japanese take this quite seriously, training to their heart's content. It's a combination of drive to compete and artistic delivery," assistant producer Anssi Ikonen said.
Matt 'The Airistotle' Burns from U.S. performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERS
(Reporting by Anne Kauranen; Editing by Sam Holmes)
Lyrae 'Lily Rocknroll' Freriechs from Australia performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERSGerman Patrick 'Ehrwolf' Culek performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERS Nanami 'Seven Seas' Nagura from Japan reacts during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERSNanami 'Seven Seas' Nagura from Japan performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERS French Vincent 'Lord Scrat' Roussel performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERSNanami 'Seven Seas' Nagura from Japan celebrates during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERS Alex 'The Jinja Assassin' Roberts from Australia performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERS Jason 'Lt. Facemelter' Farnan from U.S. performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERSRachel 'Agnes Young' Sinclair from U.S. performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERSKado 'Shariten Kd' Toshio from Japan performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERS Daniel 'Moredrive' Oldemeier from Germany performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERS Kate 'KitKat' Rose from U.S. performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERS Brittany 'Georgia Lunch' Diaz from U.S. performs during the Air Guitar World Championships final in Oulu, Finland, August 24, 2018. Lehtikuva/Eeva Riihela/via REUTERS
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