German hairdresser Elmar Weisser has won the world’s best beard title at the World Beard and Moustache Championship in Trondheim, Norway, beating 160 contestants with his facial hair sculpture of a moose.
It is the third time Mr Weisser has been named as champion, winning in 2005 with a beard styled into the shape of Berlin’s Brandenberg Gate, and in 2007 with a representation of London’s Tower Bridge. Unstyled, his beard apparently stretches down to his waist.
The World Beard and Moustache Championship has been running every two years since 1995 and is considered the premier event in the international sport of bearding, with contestants from all over the world competing in 14 categories, including natural goatee, sideburns freestyle, Hungarian moustache and imperial partial beard.
See some of the extravagant creations. Beard and Moustache photos.