Finland hosted its first Heavy Metal Knitting World Championship earlier this week. Yes, we are all going to nonchalantly accept that heavy metal knitting is a thing, and proceed with the rest of the article now.
Earlier this week, the small town of Joensuu, near the Russian border, was home to several teams of knitters dancing to heavy metal.
Finland has the highest ratio per capita of heavy metal bands to people (50 bands per 100,000 people).
If there were any doubts about the nation’s love for the genre (unlike Black Sabbath), these were put to rest when Finnish band Lordi won Eurovision in 2006.
The stage names for the bands included 9″ needles, Woolfumes, and Bunny Bandit.
“We have such dark and long winters,” said one of the founders of the event, Mari Karjalainen. “This really gives us lots of time to plan for our short summers and come up with silly ideas”.
Elise Schut, a nurse from Michigan who performed with her 71-year-old mother said: “It’s a great release…knitting is such a meditative activity but now it’s energetic and heart pumping”.
The winners of this year’s title were Giga Body Metal, a Japanese team which featured sumo wrestlers and other exciting acts. Check out the video below for an insight into this weird, wacky and lively festival.
