A sea of red and white for the Danish King on the Costa del Sol

Sport

Around 100 people from the Danish communities of Torre del Mar and Fuengirola-Mijas participated in the five-kilometre Royal Side Run on Friday 22 May to mark King Frederick's birthday

Jennie Rhodes

Around 100 people and two dogs participated in the Royal Side Run on Friday 22 May to mark King Frederick of Denmark's birthday (26 May).

The five-kilometre events took place along the promenade in Torre del Mar and in the Mijas Gran Parque and were led by Maddie Hjort, president of Den Danske Klub in Torre del Mar and Andalucía and Gibraltar ambassador for Danes Worldwide, as well as Danish resident and fitness coach Sissel Møller, who organised the Mijas park run.

All nationalities were welcome to take part and as well as Danes, there were a handful of Swedish, Norwegian, Irish and British friends of the Danish communities.

The groups attracted a lot of attention from Spanish and other nationalities who were in the areas at the time, many of whom curious to know what the Danish flags, balloons and T-shirts were for.

Royal Runs have been held across Denmark since 2018 to coincide with King Frederik's birthday. Members of the Danish royal family have participated in all the main events, meeting and inspiring locals in an informal, fun setting.

Danes Worldwide brought together Danish communities living in other countries for the joint, global fun-run between 18 and 24 May. There are approximately 4,000 Danes living on the Costa del Sol and Malaga province.