The 42nd Dinant International Bathtub Regatta, taking place on 15th August, will have a special Belgian theme this year, reveals organiser Julien Dolhet.
The quirky sporting event has made international headlines in the past and sees participants compete in a kilometre-long race on the River Meuse using makeshift waterborne vessels.
"With annual planning, the challenge lies in finding a new theme. After brainstorming, we realised how culturally, gastronomically and historically rich Belgium is. Above all, we’re proud to be Belgian," Dolhet explains.
The bathtubs must be propelled by human force only, i.e. paddling, which boosts the entertainment value. The event is completely free, whether for spectators or participants.
In the past, the event has attracted up to 20,000 spectators along Dinant's picturesque riverfront. It is organised by the Walloon non-profit Les Baignoires.
Credit: Les Baignoires
Only a few days before the event, ten teams have already registered. "New participants are obligated to sign up so we can effectively plan for any additional resources needed, but for regular participants—those who come every year—registration isn’t compulsory," clarifies the organiser. The main race kicks off at 16:30.
Also, fifteen do-it-yourself bathtub kits will be provided for the public. Attendees can spontaneously build a bathtub and paddle the kilometre stretch on the Meuse. The do-it-yourself race will start at 15:30.
In 2023, the theme was 'the farm' – which saw around 40 boats having competed. Yet the race has a long tradition which goes back four decades.
"It was a neighbourhood committee that came up with the idea 41 years ago," Julien Dolhet, chairman of the non-profit Les Baignoires, told local TV station Matélé last year. "They had heard on the radio that someone in Italy had crossed a river on a bathtub. So they said to themselves: 'Come on, let's do it!"
The committee bought several bathtubs from a scrap dealer, sold them in front of the shops and the tradition was born. Every year since, participants have come up with increasingly imaginative and originally decorated floats to create a parade on the water.
