Around 3,000 people shed their clothes and dashed into the River Derwent at Long Beach at dawn this morning, closing this year’s Dark Mofo with its annual Nude Solstice Swim.
The swimmers had signed up for the sunrise plunge, marking the return of the light after the year’s longest night.
Dressed in nothing but red caps, they ran into the water just after 7:40am on Monday, following safety briefings and drumming.
The air was a frosty four degrees before sunrise and the water 12 degrees, though the Bureau of Meteorology reported it felt more like minus one.
The swim is the closing ritual of Dark Mofo, the midwinter arts festival staged in Hobart by the Museum of Old and New Art.
The festival ran from June 11 to June 22.
The event has grown enormously since 2013, when about 300 people braved the inaugural swim, around a tenth of today’s turnout.
The festival has again drawn national attention, according to Tourism Industry Council Tasmania (TICT) chief executive Amy Hills.
“For the past two weeks, the streets of Hobart have been absolutely alive and we’ve once again had the eyes of the nation on us,” Hills told Pulse.
She said events like Dark Mofo drove visitation, lifted confidence in the state and raised Tasmania’s profile as a year-round destination.
“Our hotels have also been busy in a month that ordinarily would be quiet,” she said.
“This festival and the way our community comes together to make the most of it is something we can all be truly proud of.”
