Residents urged to take part in 'virtual' Great Knaresborough Bed Race

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The event, coordinated by the Knaresborough Lions, will take place on Saturday, June 13.

Amanda George, Public Relations Officer for the Knaresborough Lions, said: "The two essential components of Bed Race day are the parade and the race, which up to thirty thousand people normally come to watch.

"We knew we had to make these both happen somehow, while at the same time staying safe and following distancing rules.

“So we are asking households to ‘Make Your Bed’: decorate a bed at home, linking it to our theme ‘What I’m looking forward to…’.

"It could be a normal bed, a flower bed, a model of a bed, or an actual Bed Race bed if you happen to have one. Then make a video between 20 seconds and a minute long, looking as if you are in the parade with your bed.”

Sirastudio of Harrogate, which usually creates the Bed Race highlight videos, will be putting together a parade from your footage, which will be streamed online at 1pm on June 13 – the time when the real parade would normally happen. As in other years, judging will take place to name the best-dressed bed.

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Amanda added: “We are also trialling a way for the public to take part in a virtual race, to be streamed at 3pm on the day. Send us video clips, from 20 seconds up to a minute long, of your household members facing the camera and looking as though they are running in the Bed Race. You could be behind a bed headboard appearing to push it, or just position yourselves in a racing formation. Be creative."

The two requirements for the video submissions are to position yourself in front of a single-colour background and film in landscape orientation.

Since dressed beds are usually first seen by the public on the big day, the Lions are asking you to hold back from posting your videos online until after the main event. They would also like to remind people to stay within their households to make the videos, in line with current rules about distancing.

Send your videos to [email protected] by the end of May.