Finland’s Wife Carrying Championship, Dutch lake-leaping contest and French wine marathon have been revealed as the top must-do alternative sports to travel to watch.
Mud Olympics in Germany, Hobby Horse Championships in Finland and famous Scottish Haggis throwing contest also feature highly in a new alternative European sports tournament list compiled by airline easyJet and voted for by the British public.
With major international tournaments and sporting events taking place across Europe this summer the study of 2,000 sports-loving Brits by the airline has revealed a new hot list of lesser-known, must-see sports events across the continent, with some even offering the opportunity to take part.
The list has been announced as sporting fever has been sweeping the nation this summer. 87% agreed that attending a sports tournament abroad is on their bucket list, while easyJet boosted its seats by around 20% across routes to European destinations hosting sporting events this summer, including the recent Euro 2024 football champions across Germany and upcoming Olympics in Paris, to provide customers with even great choice to attend these iconic competitions.
The top 10 alternative European sporting events as voted for by the British Public are:
- Wife Carrying Championship, Finland (Rovaniemi Airport, July 2025) (38%)
Couples compete to win the wife’s weight in beer. This tournament has evolved into a two-day event that includes karaoke, markets and activities for children.
- Fierljeppen, Netherlands (Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, until September) (37%)
Fierljeppen is a favourite sport of Friesland province. It can be translated as ‘far-leaping’. The aim of the game is to jump over the water body as far as you can. The games are held every year between May and September.
- Concurs de Castille, Spain (Reus Airport – 5th October) (37%)
A human tower contest. After each level is built, children clamber up the human tower to complete the structure and wave the flag of victory.
- Marathon du Medoc France (Bordeaux airport – 7th September) (33%)
A 26.2 mile running course through scenic vineyards, where fancy dress is compulsory, and participants sample 23 glasses of famed vintages on route as well as sampling specialities such as oysters, foie gras, cheese, steak and ice-cream are also part of the experience.
- Coopers Hill Cheese Rolling, UK ( Bristol Airport, May 2025) (32%)
In an annual tradition dating back to the early 1800s, people chase a wheel of cheese down a steep incline. The winner of the race keeps the cheese.
- Haggis Hurling, UK (Glasgow Airport – June 2025) (29%)
Contestants climb atop a platform, usually an overturned whisky barrel, and lob a boiled sheep’s stomach stuffed with sheep pluck (a sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs), onion, oatmeal, suet, and spices. The goal is to throw the haggis, Scotland’s national dish, as far as possible.
- Mud Olympics, Germany (Hamburg International Airport – 17th August) (27%)
Held on the banks of the Elbe River since 1978. Competitors at the Mud Olympics can expect games of football, handball, and the long-distance rubber boot toss.
- Hobby Horse Championship, Finland (Rovaniemi Airport, June 2025) (26%)
Recently going viral on social media, witness the best of the best Hobby Horse riders put their skills to the test in a multitude of disciplines. The hobby horse has been a tradition in Finland since the 19th Century.
- Air Guitar Championships, Finland (Rovaniemi Airport, June 2025) (24%)
The Air Guitar World Championship is a physical event, first held in 1996. The aim was to promote world peace, through freedom of expression.
- Turkish Oil Wrestling, Turkey (Istanbul Airport, July 2025) (23%)
Held annually since 1360, the Turkish oil wrestling tournament is Turkey’s oldest sport and a historic festival that last three days where people compete to get their opponent in a position where their belly button faces the sky. The winner gets the coveted gold belt for the year and is given the title of Başpehlivan, meaning head wrestler.
The list, compiled by easyJet as part of its research, offers alternatives to anyone who wants experience the joy of a foreign competition, with half of those surveyed saying that England’s defeat in the Euros has further spurred them on to find an alternative sport to watch before summer ends and a quarter (25%) said they would feel calmer watching an alternative sport, compared to the nail-biting moments watching their own teams this summer.
When it comes to the appeal of foreign sporting events, 48% said the appeal is in stepping out of their comfort zone and 44% said they would go for the chance to share an experience with fans from different countries while 80% said something more out of the ordinary would give them even more reason to travel for a sporting event.
With its leading network spanning over 1000 routes to 135 destinations across more than 30 countries and as the UK’s largest airline, easyJet is perfectly positioned to connect customers to the wild and wonderful experiences on offer this summer across Europe and beyond.
easyJet is the largest airline in Scotland, for those flying north for the ‘must see’ haggis hurling and hobby horse racing. While for those searching for unique Scandinavian sports, the airline is offering more seats to Finland than ever before with its biggest ever schedule from the UK to Lapland this year. The airline is also seeing an increase in popularity for Turkey this summer compared to last, which offers guaranteed summer sun, as well as a glimpse into the world of Turkish oil wrestling.
Sophie Dekkers, Chief Commercial Officer, easyJet, commented:
“It’s been fantastic to be able to support fans who are travelling across Europe this year to watch the incredible competitions being hosted, but there’s a huge opportunity beyond the main events to explore Europe through sport, and we hope our list of alternative experiences highlights the fantastic choice out there across our network.
“Sport is unquestionably a great celebration of cultures and communities and with our unrivalled short-haul network offering over 1000 routes to 35 countries, easyJet is perfectly placed to take customers to an amazing range of events they may not have known existed and explore even more of what Europe has to offer this summer.”
