The traditional Slinningspallet in Ålesund is lit on Saturday evening – NRK Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio

– It's a proud moment. A very beautiful, very beautiful sight. Then you see everyone gathered to watch the fire you built.

Marius Sagan Major is one of the fire chiefs of the traditional Slinningspalat in Ålesund.

It is a bonfire built with the help of children and young people, who themselves decide how it should be. Many people are involved.

– It was very nice to be together with old and young people. And watching the fire burn is pretty cool, says 14-year-old Linus Waldahl, one of several youngsters who helped build the bonfire.

A folk festival

Saturday evenings are packed with people in and around Slinningsöden in Ålesund. Many people go with boats to watch the fire. Because it's a folk festival that many people in Ålesund like to attend.

The fire was lit at 21.00 on Saturday evening, but it took some time to burn out completely. The fire starts from above and then the fire spreads downwards.

Many people came to witness the traditional bonfire, and many took a boat ride to get a better look at the fire.

The fire is mainly built from trays, boxes and barrels. Slinningsbålet is the big midsummer bonfire in Ålesund.

Young people build fires all spring and early summer. This has been the case for years.

The fire became known beyond national boundaries. In 2016, they took the record for the tallest bonfire in the world.

Burned out prematurely

But this year the unimaginable worst happened. The Slinkingball they were building burned 44 days earlier than expected.

However, young people do not want to give up. They had to build a fire. And the youth have given everything to make it happen.

The fire was about 35 meters high. This is not a record, because the record is 47.4 meters. But that doesn't matter now.

– It was very sad for everyone that it burned down. But we tried to change it and decided to do our best. And we can see that we have succeeded. So it went well in the end, says Marius Sagan Major.