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It’s burned and broken, but it always comes back. Not even the current corona pandemic stops Gävlebocken. But there was no folk festival in connection with the inauguration.
Usually tens of thousands of people gather to witness the solemn opening of the Gävlebocken at Slottstorget in Gävle. But this year, due to the spread of the virus, the event had to be held digitally. People have been urged to stay away.
– There have been no crowds at all. Some have come and taken letters, but nothing more, says Rebecca Steiner, a spokeswoman for Gävlebocken.
Radio presenter and profile Titti Schultz held the inauguration of the digital dollar on Sunday, visited by, among others, Lars-Åke Wilhelmsson, better known as Babsan, and other local profiles.
Out of the studio and for the money the guards were ready to intervene to disperse the crowds. Something they didn’t have to do.
Rebecca Steiner hopes curious visitors will continue to keep a suitable distance from Gävlebocken until it is dismantled after New Years.
– This year is special. We don’t want to encourage people to travel here in any way or surround the goat, he says.
The question, however, is whether the goat will survive until the other side of the year. It has a tendency to go up in smoke. Over the years, it has been burned more times than it has been allowed to. In 2005, for example, two people dressed as Santa and a gingerbread man managed to shoot burning arrows at the straw giant. And in 1976 it was wrecked by a rag car.
But for the past three weekends of Christmas and New Years, the goat has survived unscathed, which is a record. Probably due to the fact that security has been tightened. The Christmas goat is now monitored 24 hours a day with guards and cameras, as well as double fences.
Is there a risk that interest in Gävlebocken will cool if it is not touched year after year?
– We know that the goat became famous for the attacks, but now it is already known and brand. We hope the celebrity continues anyway, says Rebecca Steiner.
