Discover the Unusual Gurning Contest That Goes Back Centuries

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Most of us grew up being told not to pull silly faces, but in one quirky corner of the UK, it’s a competitive sport that goes back centuries. Every year at the Egremont Crab Fair in Cumbria, people gather for the World Gurning Championship, where contestants compete to make the funniest, most outrageous faces they can. The peculiar tradition has been around for hundreds of years, and today, it’s a much-loved celebration of Britain’s wonderfully eccentric culture.

The Egremont Crab Fair dates all the way back to 1267, when it began as a celebration of the Lord of Egremont’s gift of crab apples to the local townspeople. Since then, it’s evolved in all sorts of odd ways—most famously with gurning, which has grown into a full-blown competition that now attracts contestants from around the world. Other events at the fair include a wheelbarrow race, a ferret show, and a pipe smoking competition.

According to the fair organizers, the World Gurning Championship is the weekend’s main attraction for many visitors. Historically, to “gurn” means to “snarl like a dog, look savage, distort the countenance.” Contestants have to pull a grotesque face through a horse collar, known as a braffin. They’re judged on how much their face changes, so the more dramatic the transformation, the better their chances of winning.

The origins of the strange tradition remain unclear, but there are a few theories. One tale claims it started as a bit of fun at the expense of the “village idiot.” Locals would put a horse collar over his head and have him pull silly faces in return for a few pints of ale. Another version tells of a drunk farmer who came home to an unhappy wife. Fed up, he supposedly shouted, “Stop gurning, woman!” and plonked a horse collar over her head—at which point, her expressions got even worse.

The World Gurning Championships have been running since at least 1852. And while there’s been plenty of outrageous faces pulled during that time, there’s been one contestant who’s outdone them all. Tommy Mattinson holds the Guinness World Record for the most World Gurning Championship titles, with 19 wins, including his latest victory in 2024. He took up gurning after his dad won a trophy for the strange sport, and as a young boy, he decided to follow in his father's footsteps. At just 11 years old, he won his first gurning competition at the Egremont Crab Fair.

In 2023, Mattinson was also awarded the Gordon Blacklock Memorial Trophy, named after a longtime gurner who passed away in 2020. In an emotional speech, he reflected on their friendship and work together, saying, “Gordon was a great gurner, a great friend, we toured and gurned together—it was amazing.” He added, “I really miss him this year, I always turn around and Gordon’s always there at the back so it’s been surreal to not have him there.”

Check out some of the most bizarre faces from the 2024 World Gurning Championships below. The next contest will take place in September 2025 at the Egremont Crab Fair.