CHEESE ROLLING: THE ROLLING CHEESE FESTIVAL - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Cheese rolling or rolling cheese festival is a competition in which a cheese is thrown down a hill and the participants jump to reach it. It is held annually on Cooper's Hill, from which it takes its official name.

Originally known as Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake, it is usually celebrated on the spring bank holiday, and takes place near Brockworth in Gloucestershire.

Image source: Sky News

This strange event belongs to a tradition that takes place in the small town of Brockworth, Gloucestershire, a lost part of England that has now risen to fame due to this competition.

But what exactly is this sport with such an extravagant name? Today you will discover what the rolling cheese festival is, where this tradition comes from, and why it is so famous worldwide.

In addition, you will learn everything you need to know about it to be able to participate in any of the following editions, if you are brave enough to do so.

What is the rolling cheese festival?

The competition itself is simple to understand and prepare, although participating in it carries quite a few risks. From the top of the hill, a cheese wheel (usually the Double Gloucester produced in the region) weighing between 3 and 4 kilos is rolled out, and the participants have to chase it down the slope.

Supposedly, the goal is to reach the cheese first and get it captured; But because the wheel can move up to 110 kilometers per hour, in practice this is impossible. Therefore, the first participant to cross the finish line wins the competition, and can take the cheese home to enjoy it or as a souvenir.

The tradition started as something purely local and done for fun; But today, participants from all over the world come to Brockworth each year to try to claim victory. In recent years, some of the winners came from as far away as Australia and Nepal.

Of course, the nearby towns have tried to make the most of this event, creating their own traditions and trying to attract tourists and onlookers. For example, in the town of Shurdington, which is 5 kilometers from Cooper's Hill, is the Cheese Rollers pub, which takes its name from the event.

At the same time, tradition also involves heading to one of the pubs in Brockworth, Cross Hands and The Victoria, for a pre-competition pint and discussing the best possible strategy. These venues also serve as a gathering place after the event, where alcohol helps participants forget their pain or celebrate their victory.

Where does the rolling cheese festival come from?

The origins of the cheese rolling festival are not entirely clear. The only thing we know for sure is that it originally took place on Pentecost Monday, a Christian holiday that changes its date every year. The celebration later changed the date, and has remained on the bank holiday ever since.

However, there are several theories about the possible origin of the rolling cheese festival. The first of them, one of the most plausible, affirms that this very strange celebration evolved naturally from certain requirements that existed in the town of Brockworth to distribute public grazing rights among its inhabitants.

Another second theory says that the rolling cheese festival would actually have a religious, specifically pagan origin. In this traditional religion, there is a custom of throwing rolling objects down a hill, which would have led to the strange celebration that takes place today.

It is believed that practitioners of the pagan religion threw burning wooden packages down a hillside, with the aim of symbolizing the arrival of the new year after a long winter. In addition, during this celebration all kinds of food were distributed, which may have some relation to the fact that nowadays a cheese is thrown instead of wood.

Although both theories propose a quite plausible explanation for the origin of this fascinating sport, we do not know for sure how the custom of throwing a 4 kilo cheese down a hill and chasing it at full speed could have emerged.

Although it may seem somewhat modern, as would be the case with other strange sports such as Muggle Quidditch or extreme ironing, the truth is that the rolling cheese festival has been practiced for at least two centuries.

The first written evidence on the subject dates from 1826, in a message sent to the town crier at Goucester. Apparently by then the tradition had been going on for a long time.

The rolling cheese festival today

Despite the brutality of this sport, in which several injuries are registered most of the years, some of them seriously, the truth is that the cheese rolling festival is increasingly popular. Year after year, hundreds of people gather in the small town of Brockworth to participate, cheer on the players, or just browse.

Despite this, local authorities are quite concerned due to the dangerous nature of the game. In 1993, fifteen of the contestants suffered injuries during the contest; and four of them had to be hospitalized due to the severity of their physical condition.

Due to these problems, in 2009 an attempt was made to completely ban the celebration of the rolling cheese festival. However, the following year a group of spontaneous people made up of local participants and journalists made their own version of the event, although smaller and without so many security measures. The same thing happened the following year, so the tradition was maintained.

From that moment to the present, the rolling cheese festival continues to be held every year, although without any kind of supervision by the authorities. However, there are rumors that in 2020 the town council of the town will hold a new official edition of the event.

What are the festival rules?

Despite the fact that nowadays it is not officially celebrated, the rolling cheese festival continues to maintain the same rules that it had originally since there are historical records about it. Luckily, the tradition has been maintained and participants can enjoy the experience in its original form.

The operation of the event is very simple. There are four races: three exclusively for men, and one for women. Theoretically, each of them has a maximum of 14 participants at one time, but normally this rule is not respected and there may be more people running. On some occasions, up to 40 people have participated at the same time.

A Master of Ceremonies begins each of the races, reciting a ritual phrase: "One to be ready, two to be steady, three to prepare and four to be off." The rough translation would be "One to get ready, two to balance, three to get ready, and four to start running."

The Master of Ceremonies drops the cheese when it reaches number three; and when he says the four out loud, the participants can run after the wheel. The first person to reach the finish line is victorious, although supposedly if someone manages to catch the cheese, they would also be named the winner.

Regarding participation, there are no special requirements. Anyone can show up on the day of the event, speak to the organizers, and run at their own risk.

However, it is recommended that only physically fit individuals take part in the festival, as injuries of all kinds are quite common during the festival.

Why is the festival so dangerous?

Because of how steep Cooper's Hill is, and how uneven its terrain is, there are typically several injuries each year, either from falling and rolling all the way down or from being hit by cheese, which is it moves at great speed and can do a lot of damage if it hits someone.

In fact, several medical and paramedical services attend the event for free, since every year there is at least one participant who requires health care or even has to be taken to the nearest hospital. In this sense, the rolling cheese festival always has the presence of ambulances from the association of St John.

On the other hand, it is also common to see volunteers from the local rugby team or groups like the Young Farmers Association acting as 'catchers'. Its function is to grab the participants who may have lost their balance during the descent, in such a way that their arrival on the ground is cushioned and the most serious injuries that may occur in the process are avoided.

In addition to this, the very use of cheese also involves several dangers. The main one has to do with the speed that the wheel reaches when going downhill, which can be close to that of a car on the highway.

Although the weight of the food is not too high, there have been cases where it has hit someone on the head, leading to a mandatory visit to the hospital.

What cheese is used in this tradition?

The cheese used in this peculiar festival is still the same as that used traditionally: a Double Gloucester in the shape of a wheel, which can weigh up to four kilos. The food is currently made by local cheese maker Diana Smart and her son Rod, who have been the official suppliers of the contest since 1988.

To protect the cheese from shocks during the race, it is usually surrounded by the edge with solid wood planks, which are decorated with ribbons at the beginning of the event. On the other hand, Diana Smart and her son also make smaller versions of the wheel, as well as sweets and other festival souvenirs, with the aim of being able to award a cash prize to the winner.

However, in recent times the cheese has been replaced several times by a version made with lighter materials, which although it maintains the original shape is less dangerous and does not cause injuries if it hits someone on the head. This has been done mainly for two reasons.

The first of them has to do with the wounds already described above. Although the participants know exactly what they are doing, the truth is that most of them would prefer to avoid serious injuries. For this reason, many are happy with the change carried out from 2013 on.

On the other hand, the local authorities threatened the cheese company in charge of providing the Double Gloucester. Apparently, because her cheese was the one that caused the injuries, she could be accused of negligence and hurting other people.

However, the arrangement of replacing the traditional wheel with a lighter one has not pleased everyone, as this also slows down its speed. In 2013, the first year in which the change was implemented, one of the participants managed to catch the wheel and won the victory, despite not going first.

conclusion

Few traditions are as strange as the Brockworth Rolling Cheese Festival. Yet despite how dangerous it may seem, hundreds of people travel every year from all corners of the world to see and participate in it. And you, would you run the race if you could?