More than 40,000 runners laced up their shoes and crossed the border between Sweden and Denmark along a 21 km course.

The ‘Bridge Run 2025’ was held in celebration of the anniversary of the Øresund Link, which physically and symbolically links Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen and Sweden’s third biggest city, Malmö.

Organisers say the run offers a unique experience for citizens and internationals to be on the structure normally reserved for cars and trains on its motorway and a double railway track.

“This is a highly expected [anticipated] event,” Morten Eklöf Risager, the head of press of the event organiser, Sparta Atletik & Løb, told Euronews Next.

He said the 40,000 tickets sold out within a couple of hours and that 100,000 people had applied for them.

“I think it's the chance to cross the country border, go underwater in a tunnel and over a bridge where you never ever set your footstep otherwise,” he added.

Runners were cheered on by spectators lining the route with national flags and the Swedish band ABBA’s music. 

Security and logistics were a major operation, with coordination between Danish and Swedish authorities ensuring a safe experience, according to organisers.

Many participants say it’s more than just a run. They signed up for the event as they believed it was a “lifetime experience”.

“I think the most special thing is that we're actually crossing a border between two countries. The bridge is historical, building these two cities together,” Magnus, a Swedish participant, said.

“It's a unique opportunity and something you probably only will do once in your lifetime,” said Kristian, a Danish participant.

Over 25,000 participants came from Sweden and almost 10,000 from Denmark.

The running event over the fixed link was first held in the year 2000 when the cross-border bridge first opened to boost regional integration, trade, and mobility between Denmark and Sweden.

“What inspired me for this event was that I was actually racing it 25 years ago for the first time. So coming back here is something I look forward to,” Tony, a participant from Denmark, told Euronews Next.

“The bridge means for me that we are very close to the Swedish people. It takes 15 minutes from Copenhagen, then you're in Sweden, and half an hour, then your in Malmö, and to go by foot on this course today is actually combining this in a very beautiful way,” he added.

Located in the Øresund Strait between the two Nordic countries, the cross-border infrastructure, spanning about 16 km consists of a bridge on the Swedish side, a subsea immersed tunnel on the Danish side and an artificial island in between.

The tunnel is one of the largest immersed tunnels in the world with a motorway and a double railway track about 22 m below sea level.

The link is seen as one of the most successful cross-border infrastructure projects in Europe.

In 2024, it carried more than 20,000 vehicles every day, setting a new record for the bridge.

The Øresund Link is currently Europe’s longest combined bridge-and-tunnel structure. 

However, once the under-construction Fehmarn Belt Tunnel, between Germany and Denmark, is completed, it will become Europe’s longest combined road‑and‑rail cross-border underwater link.