Again this year on 9 May we are marking the Ljubljana City Holiday with the March along the Barbed Wire, held from 4 until 6 May 2017.

The March along the Barbed Wire was first organised in 1957 running on the almost 35 km long path around Ljubljana where during the Second World War a barbed wire fence was erected by Italian and, later, German occupation forces. In addition to the commemoration of the liberation of Ljubljana the main aim of the march is to promote exercise and a healthy lifestyle.

This year’s march is again going to be »opened« by children from Ljubljana’s kindergartens who are going to walk the path on Thursday, 4 May, a day later pupils and students from primary and secondary schools are going to take part in the march, and the main event is to follow on Saturday when recreational hikers are going to form a green circle around Ljubljana, and runners are going on a 12.5 or 29 kilometre long Three-Member Team Run. On Saturday a cultural programme organised at Congress Square is going to include performances by the Partisan Choir and Alya.

The Three-Member Team Run is a unique event during which the threesome has to constantly run together and the time of the last member crossing the finish line is taken into account. Such a competition encourages mutual assistance and solidarity among runners as the time of the weakest member of the team counts and so the other two teammates who are perhaps better prepared have to help, encourage and motivate the third one.

Embrace Ljubljana

On the initiative of the Union of the Associations for the Values of the National Liberation Movement of Slovenia we are introducing the Embrace Ljubljana event as part of this year’s march. On Saturday exactly at 12.00 (at the sounding of the siren) all participants of the march are going to hold hands as a symbol of friendship, collaboration and love and enclose Ljubljana in a live circle.

Zero Waste

The City of Ljubljana, the public waste management company Snaga and Timing Ljubljana have signed the Zero Waste Pledge with which they have made a commitment to hold the event in line with the path towards a zero waste society and by doing so contribute to a clean environment, efficient use of resources and lower carbon footprint. The participants of the march are not going to throw waste in nature, they are going to separately collect it with the goal to recycle as much waste as possible, and the rest of it is going to be processed in the Regional Waste Management Centre Ljubljana, RCERO Ljubljana. As we want to reduce the use of plastic bottles, we are encouraging the participants of the march to freshen up and quench their thirst at the drinking fountains which are set up all around the city, also along the Path of Remembrance and Comradeship.