Over 30,000 walkers expected at 77th Airborne March

Over 30,000 people are expected to participate in the 77th Airborne March on Saturday morning, according to a spokeswoman for the Renkum Police Sports Association, the event organizer. The route will pass through the area where the Battle of Arnhem took place 80 years ago. A small number of veterans from the United Kingdom are expected to join the walk.

Walkers from 25 different countries and of all ages will participate in the largest one-day walk in the world. Two men are planning to take part for the 77th time and have never missed an edition. Participants can choose between 10, 15, 25, and 40 kilometers. Participants who opt for the longest distance will start at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, while the other distances will begin at 9 a.m., half an hour earlier than usual due to the summer weather.

The four routes will lead the walkers along striking places that remind them of what happened during WWII in Arnhem and the surrounding area. According to the organizer, the routes also take the walkers through rustic forests on the Veluwezoom.

The proceeds from the march will enable the veterans and their entourage to attend the Airborne commemorations in the Netherlands in September. As there are fewer and fewer veterans, part of the proceeds will also go towards contemporary veterans projects, a youth center, and local Airborne initiatives.

In 1947, the first Airborne March was held to commemorate the more than 1,700 Allied soldiers who died in the Battle of Arnhem, which was part of Operation Market Garden. During this Allied liberation offensive in September 1944, an attempt was made to capture bridges in the Netherlands to advance into Germany, but the operation failed.