Leiden hosts newly-weds race in wedding dress

LEIDEN – The newlyweds of this historic western Dutch city seem eager to get more usage out of their wedding dress. Eager to show it off once more without their bridegroom besides them, they responded to the call by the weekly Flair to enter in a short wedding dress run in Leiden’s city centre. As a bonus, the participants were promised a gondola ride on Leiden’s canals and to a brunch afterwards. The first prize was a free trip but the real key seemed to be the opportunity to wear the dress once more in an adventurous setting, while the key to the organizer’s interest certainly was the publicity reward. Leiden can be seen as the key to it all, since it presents itself as the sleutelstad, as the key city, a symbolic reference to the patron saint after whom the medieval St. Pieterkerk (St. Peter Church) was named.