“Repeat after me!”: The International Campfire

Mike from the UK and Asger from Denmark presented performers from 3 Continents, and did a few performances, and award-worthy performances themselves.

The event began with Mike, and his almost broken voice, singing ‘Campfires Burning’ to encourage the Jamborees, inflatable flames to inflate. Performers from Nepal did a call and response, with the crowd giving everything during the response. They didn’t say what it meant, but it sounded fun.

It was at this point that Asger educated Mike on why clapping is not a thing that is common at Danish campfires. “We do Bravos”, said Asger.

A Scottish group performed a bear hunt, featuring “WARRIORS”, with “teeny tiny bullets”. No bears or warriors were harmed during the event.

Mike asked if competitions or challenges were common at Danish campfires. Asger confirmed they were. “We do ‘Chubby Bunny’, with marshmallows,” Mike told the crowd. The challenge involves stuffing your mouth with marshmallows, and trying to say “Chubby Bunny”. This being Denmark, marshmallows were replaced with ryebread, dry, ryebread. Three volunteers were chosen from the audience, two Danes, and a Canadian, and in the end a draw was declared after two of the contestants management to jam four slices of rye bread (without jam) into their mouths, and say something not entirely unlike “chubby bunny”.

The Belgians, who have been pretty quiet at the main arena thus far, performed a dance to a song all about Belgium, its mayonnaise, its borders, and its chocolate. Gidds from Uganda, who has been sharing stories about the work that Scouts in Uganda have been doing to make their community safer, and selling wristbands, constructed from recycled plastic and nets, performed a chant.

Scouts from the Faroe Islands performed ‘WAT-DOT-N-CHEW’, a chant with actions and words that might make sense in Faroese, or maybe Danish, but I found it hard to follow. I think it was something about a little kitten who went paragliding, in a boat made of oats, that he wanted to chew?

Mike presented a video package of SL2026 attendees sharing their Jamboree memories. After taking a selfie with everyone, Mike and Asger invited everyone to perform ‘Auld Lang Syne’ – a traditional song of partings.