1,500 take the plunge in Ostend New Year dive

Record ID: 162847

  • Title: 1,500 take the plunge in Ostend New Year dive
  • Date: 1st January 2017
  • Summary: PARTICIPANTS WALKING ON BEACH
  • Embargoed: 16th January 2017 15:38
  • Keywords: Belgium North Sea new year's day tradition ocean dive Ostend sea
  • Location: OSTEND, BELGIUM
  • City: OSTEND, BELGIUM
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: Human Interest/Brights/Odd News,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA0025X90IU1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Some 1,500 people kicked off the new year with a refreshing dive into a chilly North Sea on Sunday (January 1).
    Braving the freezing winter temperatures, participants ran on Ostend beach to dive into the six-degree-celsius water, but most of them quickly got out of the sea and went back to their towels and dry clothes to keep warm.
    Some participants made it a tradition to bathe in the North Sea at the beginning of each new year.
    "It's very fun as a family trip, it's something you don't do every day, so that's why," said Noor, a Brussels resident, adding the dive was "cold but fun".
    Thomas, a Polish tourist visiting Belgium for a few days, was delighted to experience this Belgian tradition.
    "I have come to visit and surprisingly I am here. So, happy new year for all of you Belgians, great country, great culture," he said.
    The first New Year dive in Ostend was organized back in 1987.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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