UK: Hirsute competitors battle it out to win the seventh biennial World Beard and Moustache Championships

The first ever biennial World Beard and Moustache Championships is held in the UK with over 250 Hirsute competitors from around the world. Over 250 Hirsute competitors from 10 nations gathered in Brighton South-East England on Saturday (September 1) for the seventh biennial World Beard and Moustache Championships. It was the first time the competition has been held in the UK. The 2007 event was hosted by The Handlebar Club (a UK club for gentlemen with large moustaches) which was set up exactly 60 years ago in a London theatre. Competitors who paid £20 each to enter the Championships were vying for the ultimate bragging rights and a tankard with a moustache on it. Just like the dog show "Crufts", there were different categories for the fuzzy face competitors. Categories of moustache included: Natural, English, Dali, Imperial, Hungarian and Freestyle. Partial Beard categories were Natural Goatee, Chinese, Musketeer, Imperial, Freestyle and Sideburns Freestyle. For full beards, competitors battled it out in the Verdi, Garibaldi, Natural Full, Natural Full with Styled Moustache and Freestyle categories. The Brighton Conference Centre which has hosted many events from Political conferences to pop concerts has never witnessed such a spectacle and was packed with over 2500 cheering fans. As well as awarding prizes to the finest fuzz going, the championships are also to encourage and celebrate standards of excellence in the growth, design and presentation of facial hair. In the end, Beard Team Germany grabbed the top honours by winning 9 categories, followed by team USA with 4, who were a 'whisker' ahead of beard team from the UK with 3 and Wales team winning one event. Competitors were barred from using extensions or hair pins, although wax and hairspray were allowed in some cases. The first World Beard and Moustache Championship was held by beard enthusiasts in Germany in 1990. The next championships in 2009 will be held in Anchorage, Alaska. The event raised about £10,000 towards the Everyman cancer charity and the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital's Rocking horse appeal.

ITN Source | September 10, 2007

Tags:. .raised. .packed. .hair. .facial. .ahead