Tens of thousands of people from all over the world are gathering in the Dutch city of Nijmegen for the first day of the 102nd 'Four Days Marches' or 'Nijmeegse Vierdaagse', the largest marching event in the world.
On the first day of the march, which takes place from Tuesday to Friday and covers 160 kilometres of city streets and countryside, a human sea of people could be seen moving across a bridge over the river Waal.
"Since 2013, the number of registrations has exceeded 50,000 every year. In 2005, 53,336 people registered for the Four Days Marches and this record was broken for the second time in 2016 when 54,325 walkers registered to participate in 'The Walk of the World'," a press statement by the organisers said.
It added that a record 47,166 people had walked on the first day of the 2016 centenary edition.
The event will have a different route each day, revolving around different towns around Nijmegen, with participants able to do 50km, 40km or 30km routes.
This year, 51,130 people registered for the march, out of whom 5849 are military personnel and the rest civilians.
The participants hail from all 82 countries over the globe, including Afghanistan, India, China, Nepal, the Philippines, South Korea, Angola, Burundi, as well as participants from Europe and the Americas.
The militaries of 28 countries were sending delegations to participate in this year's march which started in 1909 as a Dutch military exercise but over the years has evolved into an annual event, mostly attended by civilians.
Australian Associated Press
