On May 12, for the fourth time Minsk hosted the largest cycling event in Belarus – bicycle carnival "Viva Rovar". Traditionally, car traffic was closed on one of the main avenues of the city to give the space for bicycles. More than 17 thousand participants from all over Belarus took part in the event.
On May 12, for the fourth time Minsk hosted the largest cycling event in Belarus – bicycle carnival "Viva Rovar". Traditionally, car traffic was closed on one of the main avenues of the city to give the space for bicycles. More than 17 thousand participants from all over Belarus took part in the event.
Big cycling family
With confidence, we can say that the carnival united all cyclists in Belarus. People living outside Minsk arrived in the city with their bicycles: we had big groups of cyclists arriving from Gomel, Rechitsa, Zhodino, Smorgon, Borisov, Mogilev, Grodno, Brest … Our country has united to show that there are many cyclists in Belarus.
Business takes part
This year, the carnival was very actively supported by companies. Perhaps the brightest company at the event was Velcom, they had entire drum set on bicycle.
Epam, Megatop, Lamoda also came to the parade in impressive teams … The column was full of flags of various organizations and this is an excellent sign before the start of ‘bike to work’ campaign.
‘Best costume’ award
The prize in ‘Best individual costume’ nomination – a new bicycle – went to a girl from Brest, Ekaterina Yakuta. She created a dress from 1000 public transport tickets, which she collected since 2007.
You can see the award ceremony of the contest for the best costume here.
4-hour bike excursion 2 public lectures
Minsk Cycling Community and ecological partnership "Green network" prepared an interesting educational program for the guests of the event. After the biggest bike ride along the Pobediteley Avenue, you could join a bicycle excursion with the Urban Forester Igor Korzun along the Komsomolsky Lake or stay on lectures with city activist Anton Motolko and architect and researcher Dmitry Zadorin.
The lecture was organized within the framework of the project "Urban Cycling in Belarus", which is being implemented by the Center for Environmental Solutions and the Minsk Cycling Community with the financial support of the European Union.
Celebrities on bicycles
If we are a little used to famous athletes and officials on bicycles, you will not often see Belarusian artists on two-wheeled transport.
A famous Belarusian singer Alexander Solodukha came to the festival on his own bike and rided the entire route of the carnival at the head of the column.
Organizers and Sponsors
The organizers: the Ministry of Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Belarus, the Minsk City Executive Committee, the Belarusian Cycling Sport Federation, the Minsk Cycling Club, the Minsk Cycling Community.
Partners of the event: CJSC "Bank Reshenie", the company "Belgosstrakh", mobile operator Velcom, brand "Sochny", brands BURGER KING and SBARRO, a network of Bicycle shops VIVA ROVAR, shopping center Outleto, car holding "Atlant-M".
The lecture hall of the bike carnival is supported by the European Union within the project "Urban Cycling in Belarus".
Volunteers
Also all the organizers of the festival noted that volunteers made a huge contribution to “Viva Rover”. More than 200 people helped to sort and distribute numbers, to prepare platforms for entertainments, to negotiate with partners, to accompany the column, to help with social networks, to make photos and video…
We are grateful to our dear volunteers for their work and contribution to the development of cycling in Belarus!
Result
The holiday gathered more than 17 thousand people. Thus we have demonstrated once again that there are many of us and that we need to build bicycle infrastructure. One more rotation of pedals towards cycling Belarus is made. Keep going!
More pictures from the event can be found here, official video can be found here.
