You probably didn’t hear about it, or if you did you don’t remember, but the world famous and centuries-old Gloucester Cheese Rolling Competition—England’s version of Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls—was officially banned in 2010.


Government officials shut the thing down because they said it was a
threat to the public’s health and safety. And in fairness, it was pretty
dangerous. But it’s not like they forced anyone to do it. People hurled
themselves down a 600-foot hill after that cheese of their own
volition.
However, after a two year hiatus, and with all the hoopla surrounding
Queen Elizabeth’s 60th Jubilee distracting government officials for the
past week, a group of organizers staged a rogue cheese rolling
competition over the weekend in England.
Hundreds of people showed up at Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth,
Gloucestershire, on Sunday for the illegal event. There were so many
“athletes” eager to compete that organizers had to stage three men’s
races. The final one was dubbed the “Jubilee Race,” since they used a
special edition “Jubilee Double Gloucester” cheese wheel.
Luckily the hill was nice and soft thanks to a good soaking rain, so
there weren’t as many serious injuries as in previous “sanctioned”
cheese-rolling contests.