Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake

The Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper's Hill, at Brockworth near Gloucester, England. Participants race down the 200 yd long hill chasing a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. It is uncertain when the tradition first began, and is possibly much older than its earliest known written attestation in 1826. The event has a long tradition, held by the people of the village, but now people from all over the world take part. The Guardian called it a "world-famous event", with winners coming from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and the United States.

Format
From the top of the hill, a 7-9 lb round of Double Gloucester cheese is sent rolling down the hill, which is 200 yd long, and alternates between 60 and 40 degrees of slope. Competitors then start racing down the hill after the cheese. The first person over the finish line at the bottom of the hill wins the cheese. The competitors aim to catch the cheese; however, it has around a one-second head start and can reach high speeds, enough to knock over and injure a spectator. Multiple races are held during the day, with separate events for men and women.

In the 2013 competition, a foam replica replaced the cheese for safety reasons, but a real cheese was restored the following year.

History
This ceremony originally took place each Whit Monday, but was later moved to the Spring Bank Holiday. The first written evidence of cheese rolling is found in a message written to the Gloucester town crier in 1826; even then it was apparent that the event was an old tradition, and it is believed to be at least six hundred years old.

Two possible origins have been proposed for the ceremony. First, it may have evolved from a requirement for maintaining grazing rights on the common. Second, there may be pagan origins for the custom of rolling objects down the hill. It is thought that bundles of burning brushwood were rolled down the hill to represent the birth of the New Year after winter. Connected with this belief is the traditional scattering of buns, biscuits and sweets at the top of the hill by the Master of Ceremonies. This is said to be a fertility rite to encourage the fruits of harvest.

In 1982, a team of students from the University of Bristol filmed the 31 May event using film cameras, with one camera overcranked to produce slow motion.

In 1993, fifteen people were injured, four of them seriously, chasing cheeses down the hill with its one-in-three gradient (18.4 degrees).

In 2009, safety concerns were raised after 15,000 spectators arrived, when there was only space for around 5000. These concerns led to the organisers cancelling the 2010 event. Despite the cancellation, around 100 people attended and held an unofficial event.

In 2011, a new 2-day ticketed event was proposed in order to address the safety concerns raised in previous years and to allow the event to continue operating. The proposals were received negatively due to the cost of tickets, and the proposed event was cancelled following the organisers receiving abuse. Despite the cancellation, the event continued unofficially with around 200 people attending.

The event has continued, however without official management or planning alongside the Council Safety Advisory Group.

In 2020 and 2021, the cheese-rolling event was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The cheese-rolling event returned on Sunday 5 June 2022. ending a two-year absence.

Cheese
The cheese currently used in the event is 7–9 lb Double Gloucester, a hard cheese traditionally made in a circular shape. Each is protected for the rolling by a wooden casing round the side, and is decorated with ribbons at the start of the race. Formerly, three cheeses were presented by parishioners, and the cheeses were usually rolled by them. A collection is usually made now to purchase them, as well as sweets, and also to provide prize money.

Since 1988, the cheese has been supplied by local cheesemaker Diana Smart and her son Rod from their Churcham farm. In May 2013, a police inspector warned the 86-year-old Smart that she could be held responsible for injuries. Chief Superintendent Nigel Avron of Gloucestershire Constabulary also made these comments: "If you are an organiser in some way or some capacity you could potentially be held liable for something that took place at that event". Diana Smart died in 2021. In recent years, organisers of the event have felt compelled to use a lightweight foam version for safety reasons. In the second race of 2013, Australian Caleb Stalder managed to catch the fake cheese and claim victory despite being some way behind the leaders.

Injuries
Due to the steepness and uneven surface of Cooper's Hill, there are usually several injuries each year. St John Ambulance have previously provided first aid cover at the event; however, this stopped in 2012 when the event was no longer being officially managed.

Canadian competitor Delaney Irving won the ladies race in 2023, despite finishing unconscious, and only learning of her victory in the medical enclosure. A total of six competitors were transported to hospital by ambulance treatment following the event.

Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling has been summarised by a previous participant as "twenty young men chasing a cheese off a cliff and tumbling 200 yards to the bottom, where they are scraped up by paramedics and packed off to hospital".

There is no official medical provision on site, leading to concerns from the local resilience forum about the safety of the event.

Men's race

 * Chris Anderson – 23
 * Stephen Gyde – 21
 * Steven Brain – 18
 * Islwyn "Izzy" John – 13
 * Ryan Fairley – 5
 * Hugh Atkinson – 5
 * Rob Preece – 4
 * Craig Fairley – 4
 * Michael Price - 3
 * Tony Hendzell - 3
 * Kevin Gyde - 3
 * Aaron Walden – 3
 * Jason Crowther – 3
 * Tom Holliday - 2
 * Star Royles – 2
 * Andrew Deveson – 2
 * Craig Carter – 2
 * Craig Brown – 2
 * Joshua Shepherd 2

Ladies' race

 * Flo Early – 4 (2008, 2016, 2018, 2019)
 * Rosemary Cooke – 3 (1953, 1955, 1956)
 * Amanda Turner – 3 (1981, 1982, 1983)
 * Dionne Carter – 3 (2004, 2005, 2006)
 * Lucy Townsend – 3 (2012, 2013, 2014)
 * Leticia Burns – 2 (1985, 1986)
 * Rebecca Haines – 2 (1987, 1988)
 * Keavy Morgan – 2 (2015, 2017)
 * Abby Lampe – 2 (2022, 2024)

Similar events
An annual cheese-rolling event has taken place in Chester since about 2002, to promote the town's food and drink festival. The rolling takes place on the flat down an obstacle course.

Cheese-rolling in popular culture

 * 1948: Cheese Rolling on Cooper's Hill is a painting by Charles March Gere, is part of the Museum of Gloucester Collection, and depicts a live action scene of the event.
 * Early 1970s: The New Inn pub was renamed 'The Cheese Rollers Bar & Restaurant' in the early 1970s. Located in the neighbouring village of Shurdington, it is named after the event, and has a collection of previous cheese casings along with photos and articles about the event.
 * 2008: Cheese rolling was prominently featured in the first episode of the UK television channel Five series: Rory & Paddy's Great British Adventure, broadcast on 13 August 2008, and was described as "the grandaddy of weird sports" by the titular Rory McGrath and Paddy McGuinness.
 * 2018: The contest was the subject of the BBC One programme The Great Cheese Chase. The contest was part of the German reality show Joko gegen Klaas - Das Duell um die Welt, where German former football Thorsten Legat was supposed to participate, but at the end refused to do so.
 * 2019: Let's Roll is a short film directed by Chris Thomas  about a teenage girl Antonia (Amy Bowden) attempting to emulate her brother's successes in the cheese rolling. The film was screened at BAFTA-qualifying film festivals: Norwich and Edinburgh.
 * 2019: Royal Mail issue a collectable stamps edition of UK Weird and Wonderful Customs which includes Bog snorkelling at Llanwrtyd Wells, World Gurning Championship at Egremont, Up Helly Aa in Lerwick, Burning the Clocks in Brighton, 'Obby 'Oss festival in Padstow, Samhain Celtic festival (Halloween) at Derry, Horn Dance at Abbots Bromley and Cheese-Rolling at Cooper's Hill.
 * 2020: Netflix released a documentary We are the Champions, which covers six bizarre events and competitions from across the world, starting with Cheese-Rolling at Cooper's Hill. The Cheese-Rolling follows Flo Early in her preparations for 2019 and her attempt to win the ladies race for the fourth time, which had never been achieved before.
 * 2021: The game Animal Crossing: New Horizons has a special item called Double Gloucester cheese that is only available from 22 May to 31 May, the period when this event takes place.