Mullets and mullet-admirers flocked to Quiévrain in Wallonia last weekend to participate in the 'European Mullet Championship', a festival that alternates between France and Belgium every year.
Created in 2019 to celebrate the iconic haircut, the festival welcomed 1,500 participants over the weekend.
Whether you don a mullet or simply admire them, all were welcome at the annual shindig, with one condition for taking part in the competition: sport a mullet, a haircut characterised by short hair at the front and side and long hair going down the neck.
The championship features multiple categories, such as children, "starter" mullets, seniors, families, couples, companies and "rat's tails".
It is not just about the haircut itself, however. Those competing are also judged on the "mullet within", which alludes to an open-minded and non-conformist approach to life.
There was another special addition this year. More than 200 participants attempted to break a Belgian record for the longest line by creating a chain that consisted in holding onto each other by the mullet.
Credit: Belga
"The mullet is an island of emancipation in a sea of conformity," according to the organisers, a small group of friends. The decision to opt for a mullet shows that "you don't give a damn what other people think of you."
The festival wishes to create a space for mullet-wears to "meet and exchange ideas during a relaxed, welcoming and fun weekend."
Its website explains that although the haircut is sometimes seen as unfashionable, "the mullet is a pretext for talking about tolerance, a symbol of freedom and emancipation and a metaphor for an attitude to life: a subtle balance between rules and 'déwanne' [loosely translated as "partying hard"]."
