April 30th is Walpurgis Eve — referred to as ‘Sista april’ or ‘Valborg’ in Swedish — which is the celebration of spring arriving in Sweden. In Uppsala it is also the largest student event of the year with the Donning of the Caps at Carolina Rediviva, student floats running the Fyris River, singing at the Gunilla Bell Tower and much more.
The Running of the Falls starts in the morning. A never-ending stream of floats of all shapes and colours glide down the Fyris River and take on the two falls, Kvarnfallet and Islandsfallet.
The tradition was started in the mid 1970s by Uppsala engineering students. Today the event is as popular as ever, drawing huge crowds of all ages.
