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Contestants gathered in Belgium to screech and move like gulls in a competition that is meant to “make sea gulls sexy again.”
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Europeans Screech Off at Belguim’s Sea Gull Imitation Championship
Contestant from Denmark, Italy and Britain won the top medals in this year’s European Sea Gull Screeching Championship in the coastal Belgian town of De Panne.
[screeching] “Whoa, what a performance, Anna.” “I practiced with TikTok and I practiced in front of the mirror and in front of the sea gulls.” “Sea gulls are free — fly with the dream and the sea gull. Have a character very strong.” “People think sea gulls are annoying things, but in fact, they only take care of their little ones. And they are very protective.” “There’s something wrong with people thinking about sea gulls because some people hate them. We need some more sympathy for the sea gulls.”
April 28, 2025, 2:05 p.m. ET
A chorus of sea gull squawks and screeches could be heard in a seaside Belgian resort town on Sunday — but it was not coming from the birds.
Competitors from 13 countries came together in De Panne, Belgium, to see who could produce the most faithful imitation of a gull sound for the fifth annual European Gull Scream Championship.
And it was not just sounds: The 70 participants also mimicked gull style in artful costumes. Faux feathers, beaks and claws were spotted at the event, which took place inside a large cafe in De Panne, a small town that borders France.
Anna Brynald of Denmark won the adult category, while wearing white-and-yellow face paint and a cap to cover her hair. Her costume included a white feather boa and a cape that mimicked wings.
“I practiced with TikTok and I practiced in front of the mirror and in front of the sea gulls,” Ms. Brynald said in an interview with Reuters.
Some competitors also brought props to the event. One contestant stretched her arms to imitate wings while she screeched, then paused her noise making to quickly stick her face inside a snack bag.
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